Having had a taste of what once was normality in Australia – meals out, fans cheering them on – the ATP players return to the reality of the COVID-19 world this week.
The rejigged tour has seen Singapore added to it as a one-off stop but it has been beset by withdrawals, largely due to the fact that a positive COVID test (or even if deemed a close contact with another person who has one) will result in a three-week quarantine period – something of a setback for a player’s ability to earn.
Ten of the original 19 direct entrants have opted out, including Felix Auger-Aliassime and Briton Dan Evans.
Only four of the world’s top 50 remain, with the last direct acceptance now the world number 190, Ramkumar Ramanathan.
The weak field should increase the chance of a big-priced winner and the man I like the most is RADU ALBOT at 20/1.
The Moldovan played well at the Australian Open, defeating top-20 star Roberto Bautista Agut en route to the third round where he lost to Casper Ruud.
We’re not entirely sure how fast the DecoTurf courts will play but Albot is largely suited to indoor conditions.
Back in the autumn he picked up some decent results during the European swing.
He made the quarter-finals in Cologne before taking down Hubert Hurkacz in Paris.
Albot backed that up by finishing the season with another last-eight run in Sofia where he defeated Denis Shapovalov before losing to Adrian Mannarino.
The latter in the top seed here and the pair could meet in the quarter-finals again. Mannarino would start favourite – he’s a strong indoor player too – but that Sofia clash went to three sets and Albot could well turn the tables.
I like his price and am happy to back him each way.
The bottom half of the draw is headed up by Australian John Millman but he disappointed on home soil, his sole win coming against a player ranked outside the world’s top 400.
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