Robredo Among Those Set for Royal Guard Open in Vina del Mar

December 26, 2013 | By Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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The Royal Guard Open in Viña del Mar will feature three top 20 players in 2014 with Nicolas Almagro, Fabio Fognini and Tommy Robredo set to play in the first tournament of the Latin American Golden Swing. "We've never had before three top 20 players," said Tournament Director Alvaro Fillol. "We will have a great tournament, and after last year with Rafael Nadal, this should be one of our best tournaments, with a high cut-off and all main draw players in the Top 100."

Almagro will be the main attraction at the tournament. The world number 13 will return to Viña del Mar for the first time in eight years. Almagro has won 12 ATP Tour-level titles in 20 finals, all on clay, and in the first quarter of the 2013 season, he had the best service record on tour, according to the FedEx ATP Reliability Index.

Chilean rising stars Christian Garin, the Roland Garros junior champion in 2013, and Gonzalo Lama, world number 296 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, will receive main draw wild cards.

"It's the first tournament without any of Marcelo Rios, Fernando Gonzalez or Nicolas Massu. These are new times for Chilean tennis," said Fillol.

The Tournament Director will have a meeting with Fernando Gonzaleznext week to explore the possibility of giving the triple Olympic medallist a wild card to play in the doubles with Garin.

"Fernando and Christian could play doubles at South American Games next March in Santiago," said Fillol. "If they confirm it, they could have a real option to play together in Viña del Mar, but it will depend on our meeting next week."

Jorge Aspillaga, the manager of Royal Guard, which begins a three-year agreement as the title sponsor of the tournament, explained, "Chilean tennis is at a stage of renewal and must be supported, as we our company did with Massu and Gonzalez at the beginning of their careers.” He added, "This is a prestigious tournament and we're very happy that our brand Royal Guard is associated with it.”


Long Island Tennis Magazine Staff
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