En
bgDaniil Medvedev emerged as champion following this world-class sporting event
11 February, 2019 The fourth edition of the ATP 250 Sofia Open series took place from 3 to 10 February 2019 in Arena Armeets, Sofia. This was the most prestigious tennis tournament viewed by Bulgarian audiences to date, featuring as it did six players from the top 30 in the world rankings. The prize pool of the tournament was 524,340 euros.
The third seed, Daniil Medvedev, defeated Márton Fucsovics (Hungary) 6-4, 6-3 in a match lasting 81 minutes. This was the fourth title for Medvedev and his first this season. Earlier this year, he also played at the final in Brisbane (Australia). En route to the championship in Sofia, the Russian lost only one set in his first match against Robin Haase.
Sofia Open has an excellent reputation amongst contestants and managers and this year's edition will enter the top 3. According to this year’s tournament director, Goran Djokovic, it was a source of great pride to Sofia and Bulgaria that the Sofia Open was broadcast in more than 100 countries. This is truly groundbreaking, allowing Bulgaria to position itself as an organizer of events of the highest caliber, according to Krasen Kralev, Minister of Youth and Sports. The Bulgarian Tennis Federation, through its efforts to develop tennis among teenagers and people with disabilities, helped to make this event, as well as its worldwide coverage, possible.
According to Kay Goddhindy, CEO of Sofia Open and official representative of Dubai Duty Free, the tournament’s reputation is growing thanks to the strong support of the Bulgarian public and its sponsors and partners.
Monbat supported the tournament as part of its ongoing commitment to the development of all sport in Bulgaria, especially tennis. The sport encourages the pursuit of excellence, as well as peak physical fitness and power, and Bulgaria is proud to figure among its established tournament destinations.
The tennis tournament of the ATP series 250 Sofia Open 2019 was vigorously contested and unpredictable. Among the contestants were Stan Wawrinka, who held three titles from the Australian Open 2014, Roland Garros 2015 and US Open 2016 and a total of 16 trophies in his career; Stefanos Tsitsipas, No. 15 in the World Rankings; Karen Khachanov, champion of the last Masters 1000 tournament for 2018. and No. 11 in the world rankings (Rousse), No. 21 Nikoloz Basililashvili (Gruz), 24 Roberto Bautista Agut (Esp), 28 Fernando Verdasco (Spain) and 29 Gael Monfiz (FR).
Bulgarian players who competed in the tournament included Dimitar Kuzmanov, Bulgaria's second best player, Alexander Lazarov and Alexander Donski, who played in the doubles’ tournament, and state champion Gabriel Donev.
Bulgaria's contribution to Sofia Open 2019 was very impressive, according to experts. For the first time in the tournament’s history, another Bulgarian other than Grigor Dimitrov won a match - Alexander Lazarov, who defeated two rivals from the top 160 and thus qualified for a match with his idol Fernando Verdasco.
The results of the matches, as well as more information about the rankings and the tournament, can be found at https://sofiaopen.bg/.
