Juan Martin Del Potro leads stellar field at Apia International Sydney 2014

Press release: World No. 5 Juan Martin del Potro is set to be the top seed in a packed field at Apia International Sydney 2014, comprised of five Top 25 contenders.

Del Potro, of Argentina, leads an outstanding men’s field that boasts a main draw entry cut-off inside the Top 50, with gritty world No. 13 Nicolas Almagro of Spain and flashy Italian world No. 16 Fabio Fognini among the highest-ranked players entered.

Tournament officials will allocate their first wild card to defending champion and Australian No.1 Bernard Tomic to ensure his participation; his current Emirates ATP Ranking of No. 51 meant he fell just shy of the main-draw cut-off of No. 49.

Also set to make his mark in Sydney for the first time is Wimbledon semi-finalist and World No. 21 Jerzy Janowicz, whose powerful serve and big groundstrokes will make him a favourite to take out the prestigious title.

Former champions Jarkko Nieminen and Dmitry Tursunov will return for another shot at the title as well as popular big-serving American Sam Querrey.

Apia International Sydney Tournament Director Craig Watson is delighted to have such a strong field assembled in Sydney.

“To have our defending champions, seven top 10 stars and three Grand Slam champions bound for Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre is an outstanding result for the event and an exciting prospect for Sydney tennis fans,” Watson said.

“Our confirmed entry lists are incredibly strong; having a pair of top five stars headlining a multitude of Top 50 players ensures we will all witness some outstanding and memorable tennis action this January.”

Australian players including Marinko Matosevic, Matt Ebden and Nick Kyrgios could also take part in the event as potential wild card participants.

The official ATP field for Apia International Sydney 2014 is as follows:

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)
Nicolas Almagro (ESP)
Fabio Fognini (ITA)
Jerzy Janowicz (POL)
Andreas Seppi (ITA)
Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
Vasek Pospisil (CAN)
Julien Benneteau (FRA)
Marin Cilic (CRO)
Marcel Granollers (ESP)
Jarkko Nieminen (FIN)
Florian Mayer (GER)
Carlos Berlocq (ARG)
Radek Stepanek (CZE)
Denis Istomin (UZB)
Sam Querrey (USA)
Lukas Rosol (CZE)
Pablo Andujar (ESP)
Joao Sousa (POR)

Apia International Sydney 2014, proudly supported by Apia in association with Volkswagen and The NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency Destination NSW, will take place at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre from 5 to 11 January 2014.

Apia International Sydney single session tickets and series packages are now available. One ticket provides access to every court with prices starting from just $20 for adults and $10 for children.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketek.com.au/booksydney or call 1300 888 104. For further tournament information please visit www.apiainternational.com.au