written by Lawrence Frankopan, tournament director
Everyone who knows tennis and the ATP World Tour knows that the first day of the main draw of the tournament is never easy and that the first day of a tournament after the Davis Cup weekend, due to the schedule of the arrival of the players, can be particularly challenging. Behind us is a phenomenal weekend of tennis in the Davis Cup, but the 26th Konzum Croatia Open, fortunately, will not suffer because of that. We therefore believe that today's schedule and the matches we offer are best proof of the fact that this year's Umag has a very strong and balanced list of players.
Therefore, from the first day we will have the opportunity to watch interesting tennis. The program will be opened on the center court by Mate Delić playing against Aljaž Bedene. The duel of the 22-year-old payer from nearby Kaštel and the four years older player from Ljubljana will offer us some healthy, good neighborly rivalry. Mate Delić is one of three wildcard winners and we believe that he will justify his invitation. He has been training for the last ten days with Borna Ćorić. Last year he was a close to a victory in Umag against the later winner Pablo Cuevas, but was defeated in three sets.
Bedene, who as of late is playing under the British flag, is certainly not the ideal opponent for the first round. Aljaž is a very talented player who is constantly in the Top 100. He plays aggressive tennis and he came to Umag to continue a series of five wins thanks to which he won the Challenger in Todi a week ago. He will certainly have a great support from his fans because the Umag tournament is the closest tournament to his hometown.
The night match on the center court will offer a spectacle. Fabio Fognini is playing for the eighth consecutive year in Istria and he could not have got a better opponent to start the tournament. Jiry Vesely is the best ranked player in the tournament and will certainly cause Fognini and his fans some hassle.
Besides the center court, the other courts are witnessing matches of true Umag warriors, who were playing on unbearable heat for the last two days. Four matches of the last round of qualifications will complete the main draw of the tournament. Congratulations, guys!
