Coming off a career-best season, world No.14 Feliciano Lopez has announced he will start his year at the 2015 Priceline Pharmacy Classic at Kooyong.
The Spanish lefty, standing at his highest ranking, served as an alternate at the season-ending World Tour titles and is looking forward to gaining valuable match-play at Kooyong ahead of the Australian Open, where a solid run at the year’s first Grand Slam could see him crack the top 10.
Lopez further bolsters a Kooyong field which now boasts five players who have all been ranked in the top 15 in the world, with tickets, priced from $20, now on sale at kooyongclassic.com.au.
He joins defending champion and world No.5, Kei Nishikori, French Davis Cup heroes and former top-ten ranked players Richard Gasquet and Giles Simon and flashy Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov at the fan-favourite event, which runs from Tuesday, January 13 to Friday, January 16, 2015.
“Some of my best results from last season came on hard courts in the latter half of the season so I’m hoping to carry that into Kooyong and then onto the Australian Open,” the Spaniard said.
“Getting that extra match-play in Melbourne at Kooyong before the Australian Open will hopefully set me up for a good summer.”
In June, Lopez became the first player to reach back-to-back grass-court finals in the lead-up to Wimbledon since 2001. He fell to Grigor Dimitrov at Queen’s before winning his fourth ATP World Tour title in defending his Eastbourne crown over fellow Kooyong competitor, Gasquet, before reaching the fourth round at Wimbledon, where he fell to Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka.
He finished the year on hard courts at a canter, reaching the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semifinals in Toronto – with consecutive top-10 victories – before backing up the result with a semifinal showing at the Shanghai Masters 1000, where he scored just his second victory over then-No.2 Rafael Nadal en route.
Tournament Director Brian Cooney said the addition of the popular Spaniard to the Priceline Pharmacy Classic – Kooyong field added depth to an already impressive field.
“Feliciano is coming off his strongest season, which saw him rise into the top 15 in the world, so he’s going to be an exciting player for fans to see in action at Kooyong,” Cooney said.
“As a player who’s not afraid to serve-and-volley, the lefty brings variety and experience to our event, which already includes Nishikori, Dolgopolov, Gasquet and Simon.”
Tickets start at just $20 and are on sale now at kooyongclassic.com.au
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The 2015 Priceline Pharmacy Classic – Kooyong takes place at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club from Tuesday January 13 to Friday January 16, 2015, a shift from the tournament's traditional scheduling. The event is a key lead-in to the season-opening Grand Slam – the Australian Open.
• The Priceline Pharmacy Classic is the only Australian Open warm-up event to be played in Melbourne.
• The event switched from grass to hard courts in 1995 to make playing conditions close to that of the Australian Open.
• This will be the 27th year the event has been held at Kooyong.
• Americans Michael Chang, Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick hold the record for most Kooyong titles, having won three each, with Chang and Roddick winning their three in succession.
• Six former world No.1s have won the event – Lleyton Hewitt, Roger Federer, Roddick, Agassi, Pete Sampras and Thomas Muster.
Lopez (No.14) becomes the fifth top-30 player to enter the 2015 event after No.5 Nishikori, No.21 Gilles Simon, No.23 Alexandr Dolgopolov and No.27 Richard Gasquet.
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