After a rainy Saturday and the cancellation of all matches, this Sunday, on the hill of Parc Impérial and on the courts of Nice LTC, the official kick-off of the Open Nice Côte d’Azur will take place with a very competitive line-up: Tomas Berdych, Lleyton Hewitt, Andreas Seppi, Gilles Simon, Fabio Fognini, Paolo Lorenzi, Sam Querrey, John Isner, Gaël Monfils, and Paul-Henri Mathieu will attempt to add their name to the tournament’s winners following Almagro’s victory last year.
A day devoted to qualifications to discover future players entering the final draw, where from 2 p.m., the serious games will begin with the first round of men’s singles and the round of 16 in men’s doubles. The first round will continue until Tuesday with the initial round of 16 starting from Wednesday.
If Czech Tomas Berdych stands out as the favorite with 28 wins against 9 losses and 2 finals in 2013 (Marseille and Dubai), there’s no doubt that the French, Italian, and American contingents will be keen to challenge the predictions with Gilles Simon, Gaël Monfils, Paul-Henri Mathieu, Andreas Seppi, Fabio Fognini, Paolo Lorenzi, Sam Querrey, John Isner, and Lleyton Hewitt among their ranks. Matches could be highly contested, as the players vie to reach the center court on Saturday, May 25, to compete in the final of this 2013 Open.
On the French front, local favorite Gilles Simon hopes to climb the final step that he couldn’t accomplish last year, having reached the semifinals only to be eliminated by the eventual winner, Spaniard Almagro. Defeated in the round of 16 at major clay-court tournaments by Roger Federer in Rome (6-1, 6-2) and by Andy Murray in Madrid (2-6, 6-4, 7-6(6)), the Nice native will aim to shine on home ground before the big event at Roland Garros. For Gaël Monfils and Paul-Henri Mathieu, the task will be more demanding. Monfils hasn’t been in great shape, being eliminated in the round of 16 in his last three tournaments (Bucharest, Munich, and Bordeaux), while Mathieu has only managed to reach one round of 16 in Bordeaux, facing early eliminations in the first round of other tournaments (Munich, Bucharest, Casablanca, Indian Wells, Dubai, Rotterdam, and Montpellier).
As in previous years, the Nice Côte d’Azur Sports Portal will allow you to follow the match results and, from the round of 16, live commentary and photo galleries of the matches in real-time.
Visit the Open Nice Côte d’Azur site
WEEKLY SCHEDULE
Saturday, May 18: 9:00 a.m. Qualifications – Free entry
Sunday, May 19: 10:00 a.m. End of qualifications
2:00 p.m. 1st round singles & doubles round of 16
Monday, May 20: 11:00 a.m. – Day session 1st round singles & doubles round of 16
6:00 p.m. – Evening session 1st round singles (1 match)
Tuesday, May 21: 11:00 a.m. – Day session 1st round singles & doubles and singles round of 16
6:00 p.m. – Evening session End of 1st round singles (2 matches)
Wednesday, May 22: 11:00 a.m. – Day session Singles round of 16
and doubles quarter-finals 6:00 p.m. – Evening session End of singles round of 16 (2 matches)
Thursday, May 23: 12:00 p.m. – Day session Singles quarter-finals and doubles semi-finals
6:00 p.m. – Evening session Last singles quarter-final (2 matches)
Friday, May 24 12:30 p.m. Doubles semi-finals 2:30 p.m. Singles semi-finals
Saturday, May 25 12:00 p.m. Doubles final
2:30 p.m. Singles final
Official tournament shuttles.
Shuttles are available to you at Gare Thiers and Place Général De Gaulle to transport you to the Nice Lawn Tennis Club. Below is the schedule of the Open shuttles from Gare Thiers and Place Général De Gaulle:
Tuesday, May 21: no rotation from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., shuttles will operate if spectators are waiting. From 5:30 p.m. to the end of the matches, rotation every ½ hour
Wednesday, May 22: no rotation from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., shuttles will operate if spectators are waiting. From 5:30 p.m. to the end of the matches, rotation every ½ hour
Thursday, May 23: from 11 a.m. to the end of the matches, rotation every ½ hour
Friday, May 24: from 11 a.m. to the end of the matches, rotation every ½ hour
Saturday, May 25: from 11 a.m. to the end of the matches, rotation every ½ hour
