The twentieth edition of the Moselle Open was a great success last year with the coronation of Ugo Humbert, the native of the country, the first Frenchman to win in Metz since 2019 and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. But the organizers also had to deal with an avalanche of withdrawals just before the start of the competition, 15 to be exact, mainly because of the change of date, just after the Rolex Paris Masters. A large oil stain that is difficult to remove and forget about. What will happen this time? There will definitely be packages. This is the fate of all tournaments. Novak Djokovic is, for example, the big absentee this week in the capital for the last one in Bercy. Sebastian Korda and Félix Auger-Aliassime also do not appear in the final draw although they are still registered for the Moselle Open.
The first, the American, has not frequented the ATP circuit since the US Open at the end of August and should logically withdraw. The second, the Canadian was last week in Basel (Switzerland) where he was the double title holder. He suffers from back pain and has suggested on his networks that his season is over. “I took tests and tried to train before concluding that I would not be ready to compete in Paris at the level I would have liked. That said, it’s a bittersweet end to the season, and I will do everything I can to recover mentally and physically in order to start 2025 well.”
Djoko, right Djoko?
Julien Boutter, the director of the Moselle Open, will carefully follow the performances of several players from the Top 15 at the Rolex Paris Masters who have not yet qualified for the Masters Turin, the big end-of-season mass which brings together the eight best players of the planet. Will Novak Djokovic participate? The question arises and it is not certain that we will see the Serbian on a court again before the start of 2025. If this is the case, the Norwegian Casper Ruud, the Russian Andrey Rublev and the Australian Alex de Minaur almost have their ticket to Piedmont. It is not certain that the first city therefore passes through the Moselle box.
But the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov or the American Tommy Paul have not yet said the last word and dream of beating the odds even if they must at least reach the semi-finals at Bercy to reshuffle the cards. In the opposite direction, we should obviously find Ugo Humbert, but also the Dane Holger Rune looking for a first ATP title in 2024, Lorenzo Sonego, the 2022 winner, but also the French Adrian Mannarino, Arthur Rinderknech and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard , winner this Sunday of the ATP 500 in Basel barring serious fatigue.
And the guests are…
The organizers of the Moselle Open still have three assets in their hands: the famous wild cards, one of which is issued in agreement with the French Tennis Federation (FFT). Winner in 2016 and back in the Top 100, Frenchman Lucas Pouille could well get one. For the rest, everything is possible, including pleasant surprises. Absent since the Asian tour, Hubert Hurkacz is making his return to the ATP circuit this week at the Rolex Paris Masters. The Pole, winner in 2021, could request an invitation to end the year well and get closer to the Top 10. Semi-finalists last year, the Alsatian Pierre-Hughes Herbert and the Italian Fabio Fognini are probably also on the list. cut. And what about Harold Mayot, the other Mosellan? Lots of questions that will quickly be dispelled.
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