HALL OF FAME OPEN: The ATP tour wraps up the grass court season with the players taking to Newport, Rhode Island for the Hall of Fame Open. With many of tennis’ biggest names ending their grass court campaigns at Wimbledon, this tournament provides an opportunity for some of the lesser-known players to compete for an ATP title.
Maxime Cressy – Defending Champion
Maxime Cressy heads to Newport to defend his title this year, having won the tournament in good style last year, beating top players such as John Isner in the semi-final and two-time ATP Tour champion Alexander Bublik in an intense three set finale.
2023 has however not been Cressy’s most successful year, failing to win an ATP singles title so far. His only success this year came on the doubles circuit where him and his partner, Fabrice Martin, won the Dubai Tennis Championships title. Cressy’s best performance on the singles tour came at the South of France Open, where he lost to second seed Jannik Sinner in the final.
The Hall of Fame Open provides a great chance for Cressy to kickstart his singles season and a strong end to his grass court spell could set him in good stead to pick up more ATP Titles in the second half of 2023.
Tommy Paul – First timer
Tommy Paul is one of the more notable players taking to the Hall of Fame this year, and it will be his first ever appearance at the tournament – something which is always popular with the American crowd.
2023 has been a strong year for Paul, reaching a milestone with his 100th career win as well as breaking into the top 15 for the first time. Paul’s standout performance came at the Australian Open where he reached the semi-finals before being defeated by the eventual winner, Novak Djokovic.
Paul is currently competing in the Eastbourne International where he has reached the semi-final stage. A continuation of his strong grass court performances this season could well see him pick up the Hall of Fame Open trophy at the first time of asking.
John Isner – Experienced winner
By far the biggest player in this tournament, both in terms of reputation and physical size, John Isner will head to Newport in pursuit of his fifth Hall of Fame Open title to increase his lead at the top of the table for all-time wins at the tournament.
Isner won his first Hall of Fame Open singles title in 2011, but that wasn’t his first success at the tournament as he won the doubles competition three years earlier. Since 2011 Isner has won another four Hall of Fame Open singles titles, most recently in 2019.
The big serving American is renowned for his grass court prowess and with his chances of a Wimbledon win seemingly behind him, he will be looking to write his name into the history books in the USA instead with a fifth singles title here.
Max Purcell – Down Underdog
Max Purcell is another hybrid player competing at the Hall of Fame Open having seen success in both doubles and singles competitions in his career so far, with his doubles success being superior recently.
Purcell’s most recent grass court success came at Wimbledon last year as him and partner Matthew Ebden won the tournament to give them each their first Grand Slam victory. Purcell also saw his own singles success at the French Open this year on a slightly lesser scale as he achieved his first ever Grand Slam singles win in the first round.
Purcell has proved his quality on the grass in doubles competitions and will likely compete in the doubles alongside his singles bid, and this tournament could provide him with the perfect opportunity to score his first ATP singles title.
