The Moselle Open, which made its ATP Tour debut in 2003, is one of six tour-level events held in France.

The ATP 250 would have been held this week if not for the COVID-19 pandemic.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to know about the tournament.

Fantastic Frenchmen
Since its inaugural edition, the Moselle Open has proven to be a popular stop on the ATP Tour calendar for French players. Sixteen of the 17 previous editions of the event have featured a home champion in singles or doubles.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga owns a tournament record four singles trophies in Metz, followed closely by three-time champion Gilles Simon. In doubles, Frenchmen Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin have each claimed a record four trophies.

On four occasions, France has produced the singles champion and both doubles titlists in the same year (2003-’04, ’12, ’18). The only edition of the tournament that has not featured a French winner was in 2014, when Belgium’s David Goffin captured the singles crown and Poland’s Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski lifted the doubles trophy.

Djokovic Becomes Youngest Champion
Less than three months after clinching his first ATP Tour crown in Amersfoort, Novak Djokovic doubled his tour-level trophy count with a title run at 2006 Metz. The Serbian, who dropped only 13 games en route to the semi-finals, claimed consecutive comeback victories against Sebastien Grosjean and Jurgen Melzer to claim his first ATP Tour title on hard courts.

With his victory against Melzer in the final, Djokovic became the youngest champion in tournament history at 19 years and four months. It is a record the 17-time Grand Slam champion still holds.

Novak Djokovic lifted his first tour-level trophy on hard courts at the 2006 Moselle Open.” />

Simon Claims Historic Third Crown
Simon entered the 2018 edition of the tournament seeking a record-equalling third Metz trophy, five years after winning the event for a second time in 2013. The reigning Pune champion battled past seventh seed Filip Krajinovic and fourth seed Richard Gasquet en route to the championship match, in which he faced qualifier Matthias Bachinger for the title.

Simon was forced to save three set points in the first set, before cruising to his third trophy at the ATP 250 to equal Tsonga’s then-record haul of three Metz crowns. It marked the first time Simon had lifted multiple ATP Tour trophies in the same year since 2011.

Mahut/Roger-Vasselin Break Doubles Record
Heading into the 2018 Moselle Open, four Frenchmen held a record three Metz doubles titles: Mahut, Roger-Vasselin, Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement. Six years after lifting the 2012 trophy in their only previous team appearance at the event, Mahut and Roger-Vasselin improved to 8-0 as a duo in Metz to earn their fourth trophies at the ATP 250.

Mahut and Roger-Vasselin did not drop a set en route to the title, beating reigning Montpellier champions Ken Skupski and Neal Skupski in the championship match. “Winning in France is special, but winning twice here [together] and, for both of us it is the fourth time [overall], it is something big,” said Mahut.

Mahut and Roger-Vasselin fell just short of adding another trophy to their Metz collections last year, falling to Robert Lindstedt and Jan-Lennard Struff in the 2019 championship match. The Frenchmen own an 11-1 record as a team in Metz.

Tsonga Makes History
One year after returning from left knee surgery in Metz, Tsonga became the first man to win four trophies at the event in 2019. The 6’2” right-hander recovered from a set down on two occasions and defeated 2016 titlist Lucas Pouille en route to the championship match, in which he met in-form Slovenian Aljaz Bedene.

In a final dominated by the serve, Tsonga clinched the only break of the match in the deciding set to move clear of three-time champion Simon at the top of the Metz titles leaderboard. At 34 years and five months, Tsonga also overtook his countryman to become the oldest champion and most successful player, in terms of matches won (23), in tournament history.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga owns a record four Moselle Open singles trophies.” />

Last week, Lorenzo Musetti stole the show in Rome. Making his ATP Masters 1000 debut, the surging 18-year-old streaked to the Round of 16 at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, capturing the headlines on home soil.

Five consecutive victories from qualifying, including straight-set wins over Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori, put the Italian teen on the map. Now firmly inside the Top 200 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, Musetti will look to take the next step in his fledgling career as he returns to the ATP Challenger Tour.

In search of his first Challenger final, the 18-year-old is back in action this week in Forli, competing at the inaugural Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Forli. Located in northern Italy, just a 30-minute drive from the eastern coast, the city is hosting a professional tournament for the first time. Musetti leads the Italian charge alongside countrymen Salvatore Caruso, Andreas Seppi and fellow 18-year-old Giulio Zeppieri.

View Draw

Caruso and Seppi are two of eight players inside the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings in Forli. Leading the field is top seed and World No. 66 Frances Tiafoe, who is coming off a fourth-round finish at the US Open. In search of match play on clay ahead of Roland Garros, the American is competing in his first tournament on the surface in 16 months.

Tiafoe and Musetti could potentially meet in a blockbuster second-round clash. The Maryland native opens against Tsung-Hua Yang on Monday evening, while Musetti battles Russian veteran Teymuraz Gabashvili. Seppi also looms in their quarter of the draw.

World No. 68 Cameron Norrie is seeded second in Forli and, like Tiafoe, is looking to build on a strong performance at the US Open. The Brit reached the third round at a Grand Slam for the first time, following a five-set upset of Diego Schwartzman.

Harrison Begins Singles Comeback
Norrie will open against a familiar foe in Christian Harrison on Tuesday. The pair have met on two previous occasions, with Norrie claiming both a semi-final in Binghamton in 2017 and a qualifying encounter at the BNP Paribas Open a year later.

Harrison, who emerged from qualifying, is competing in singles for the first time since March 2019. In his continued struggles to stay healthy, the 26-year-old underwent an eighth surgery – this time on his femur – in 2018 and is slowly moving towards a full singles comeback.

“It’s been a long time since I played singles, so I’m really happy to get through qualifying,” said Harrison. “To come here and play matches and get a couple wins, I’m feeling very good. I’m very comfortable here and hope I can play many tournaments in Italy.”

Harrison peaked at No. 198 in the FedEx ATP Rankings in July 2018, just months after reaching his lone Challenger final in Savannah.

“Since I was 14-years-old, I haven’t been able to play a full season of tournaments consistently. That makes it very tough, but I’ve learned to not give up and find new solutions to make my body feel better. The last six or seven months I’ve been trying something new, and that’s why I’m able to get back on the court now. My body has made a lot of improvements.

“I’ve had eight surgeries and I still have some pain here and there, but it’s something you learn to work through. I’ve made small progress every few months. I have to be very diligent about doing my exercises every day, but it helps give me the right mindset.”

Consistent with a commitment from tennis’ stakeholders to provide financial support for lower-ranked players during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FFT has announced a boost in Roland Garros prize money in qualifying and the first round.

The clay-court Grand Slam is redistributing money from the latter rounds to increase qualifying prize money by more than 27 per cent from last year. Losers in the first round of qualifying will take home €10,000, a 42 per cent increase on last year.

In the main draw singles, players who fall in the first round will take home €60,000, an increase of more than 30 per cent on last year’s total. The first and second rounds of the men’s doubles have also been positively impacted by prize money increases of 30 per cent and four per cent, respectively.

The tournament, which has moved its traditional main draw late May start to 27 September, will unveil its new retractable roof on Court Philippe-Chatrier, giving players and fans guaranteed action throughout the 15-day event. Qualifying action begins Monday.

2020 Roland Garros Men’s Qualifying Prize Money

2020 Roland Garros Main Draw Prize Money

Oscar Otte, the World No. 136 from Cologne, Germany, describes the key to his dominant restart on the ATP Challenger Tour. In a challenging 2020 season, the Aix-en-Provence champ is keeping things simple and making fitness a priority.

“If you’re good at losing, I think you can get even better at winning.”

Oscar Otte is living by this mantra since the ATP Challenger Tour restarted last month. Hungry and motivated following the five-month COVID-19 break, Otte has shined in the return of the Challenger circuit. The German is playing the best tennis of his career in recent weeks and he took it to the next level in Aix-en-Provence, France.

Otte is 12-3 in the tour’s restart, including a title in Aix-en-Provence and final run in Ostrava. The victory in Aix was a long time coming for the 27-year-old, who was three years removed from his lone previous title in Lisbon in 2017. Moreover, Otte now owns the second-most match wins since the the ATP Challenger Tour returned to action on 17 August.

Sitting at No. 136 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, the Top 100 is well within reach in 2020. One year removed from his first Grand Slam match win at Roland Garros, before falling to Roger Federer, Otte is targeting another successful qualifying campaign at the clay-court major. The Cologne native is also looking forward to the debut of a new ATP Tour event in his hometown, with the bett1HULKS Indoors premiering in mid-October.

“It’s amazing. I’ve always said that it would be one of my dreams to play a bigger tournament in my hometown, where everbody could watch,” said Otte about the ATP 250 in Cologne. “With my friends and family there, it would be amazing. I’m really looking forward to it. Hopefully I get a wild card, but maybe I’ll get into the qualifying with my new ranking. That would be really great for me. It would be special to be able to play and perform there.”

When Novak Djokovic and Diego Schwartzman meet for the fifth time in their ATP Head2Head series (Djokovic leads 4-0) in Monday’s Internazionali BNL d’Italia final, both players will not only be fighting for the Rome trophy, but also a personal milestone.

Following the completion of his second Career Golden Masters at the Western & Southern Open last month, Djokovic is the joint Masters 1000 titles leader alongside fellow 35-time champion Rafael Nadal. The Rome final presents Djokovic with an opportunity to overtake his rival by lifting a 36th trophy at the level.

Most ATP Masters 1000 Titles

On the other side of the net, Schwartzman is one win away from cracking the Top 10 in the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time in his career. The Argentine can achieve the feat by defeating Djokovic for the first time to claim his maiden Masters 1000 trophy.

Djokovic has dropped just one set en route to his 10th final in the Italian capital, improving his match record to 30-1 this year. The 33-year-old has been tested throughout the week in each of his three most recent clashes in Rome.

Novak Djokovic is unbeaten in four ATP Head2Head matches against Diego Schwartzman.” />

Djokovic played an 87-minute set against Filip Krajinovic in the third round, survived a three-set quarter-final battle against Dominik Koepfer and saved two set points in the first set of his semi-final clash against Casper Ruud. The Serbian has consistently produced his best level under pressure to close in on a fifth trophy at the Foro Italico.

Djokovic’s victory against Ruud improved his semi-final record in Rome to 10-1, but the Serbian has not fared as well in championship matches at the Masters 1000 event. Djokovic owns a 4-5 record in Rome finals, which includes losses in his past three championship matches (2016-’17, ’19).

An opportunity to overtake Nadal and make further history in Rome are huge motivational factors for the World No. 1. The four-time champion is still as ambitious as he was the first time he arrived at the tournament, where he has enjoyed consistent success since 2007. Djokovic has reached the quarter-finals or better in each of his 14 appearances at the Foro Italico.

“The 1000 Masters events are as important as it gets on the Tour,” said Djokovic. “These are the events where I want to perform my best other than Grand Slams and the [Nitto ATP Finals]… Finals at such big events mean a lot even after 15 years [of] being on the Tour. I still am as motivated to get my hands on the trophy. This is what I work for as much as anybody else, really, on the Tour.”

Standing between Djokovic and the Masters 1000 titles record is a first-time finalist at the level: Diego Schwartzman. Djokovic enters the contest with a 4-0 ATP Head2Head record against the 28-year-old, but will be well aware of the threat the Argentine poses. The pair met in the semi-finals at this event last year, with Djokovic eventually prevailing in three sets after two hours and 31 minutes.

Djokovic will face an opponent with peak confidence levels on Centrale. Schwartzman dropped just one set en route to the quarter-finals, where he earned his first victory in 10 matches against nine-time champion Rafael Nadal. Schwartzman described the straight-sets win as his “best match ever” and his final opponent was equally impressed.

“Diego played the match of his life [against Nadal]… He was so impressive,” said Djokovic. “And that proves that anything is possible, even [against] Nadal who is probably the toughest challenge in our sport, playing Nadal on clay. But he managed to win in straight sets, so that proves his quality.”

The opportunity to enter the Top 10 for the first time and lift the biggest title of his career with a single victory perhaps makes Monday’s final the biggest match of Schwartzman’s career. The World No. 15 is prepared to push himself to the limit to realise two dreams at the Masters 1000 tournament.

“I have two dreams tomorrow. One is winning a tournament like this and the second one: be Top 10,” said Schwartzman. “Both are there tomorrow on court against Novak. I know it’s very difficult. I almost need to play more than my 100 per cent.

“I don’t want to say impossible, because it’s not impossible. I know can beat him. But it’s going to be very difficult. But the chances are there tomorrow… I’m going to do everything to be more than my 100 per cent tomorrow on court.”

After his victory against Nadal, Schwartzman was able to maintain his level and earn another milestone win just 24 hours later on Centrale. The Argentine trailed by a break on three occasions in the deciding set of his semi-final clash against Denis Shapovalov, but fought back to claim a memorable final-set tie-break win after three hours and 15 minutes.

“At the end, maybe the third set we were playing for many things: for the final, for the Top 10, for the match… The nerves were there. It was difficult,” said Schwartzman.

“But I think I took my chances when he was thinking about [the] win and nothing else, when he was serving for the match and [a] break up in the third.”

Having already ended a winless streak against Nadal, Schwartzman will now attempt to do the same against Djokovic. The rewards for victory in Rome are clear to both men. But who will be able to take their chance on Monday and place their name in the history books?

Denis Shapovalov played some of his best tennis for three hours and 15 minutes on Sunday evening in the semi-finals of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia, falling just short in a third-set tie-break against Diego Schwartzman.

If Novak Djokovic beats Schwartzman in Monday’s final, Shapovalov will still crack the Top 10 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time. But the Canadian is not sweating it.

“My time will come whether it’s now or later. I think God has a path for me, and obviously today I wasn’t meant to win,” Shapovalov said. “But I’m going to keep working, keep improving, and if I don’t get there now, then I’ll just keep pushing to try to break through to the Top 10.

“I’m only 21, so I’m really happy with having that chance for now, to come that close.”

Schwartzman will be the first-time Top 10 member if he upsets Djokovic. Shapovalov was patient throughout their marathon, waiting for the perfect moment to strike in rallies with his aggressive game. But at the very end of the match, the Argentine was the steadier player.

“Definitely very pleased with myself. Obviously I’m a perfectionist. I expect a lot from myself. Definitely disappointed with today,” Shapovalov said. “Diego’s one of the greatest clay-courters out there right now, so it’s big for my part to be able to go toe-to-toe against him from the back despite struggling with my serve.

“I think it’s shown great improvement from me, and I’m really, really pleased with the way I was able to play.”

Shapovalov struck 10 aces, but hit eight double faults, with a majority of those coming in crucial moments. The 21-year-old lefty was happy that despite only winning 43 per cent of his second-serve points, he was able to hang in with Schwartzman.

“Played a great match today despite not serving nearly as good as I could. I had a chance to win it and [I was] up a break [three times] in the third set,” Shapovalov said. “I’m happy that I was able to almost find a way to win despite struggling with one of my main weapons today.”

What was the big difference in the match? According to Shapovalov, he simply lost a couple key points when it mattered.

“I don’t know if there was a key. We were both playing very even tennis off the back, and it was just a couple points. I think it was a great match from both of us,” Shapovalov said. “I feel like we both deserved to win today, so I don’t think there was any keys or anything. It was just a couple of points that made the difference.”

Shapovalov will now prepare for Roland Garros, where he has never advanced past the second round. He will certainly have momentum on his side and potentially a Top 10 ranking with it.