Former Champions Vie for ASB Classic Men’s Title

Media Release
14 October 2016

Former Champions Vie for Highly Anticipated 2017 ASB Classic Men’s Title

The 2017 ASB Classic men’s competition is taking impressive shape with the signing of two former champions David Ferrer and John Isner.

Ferrer, who was a semi-finalist again earlier this year, has already captured four titles at the ASB Tennis Arena and sits alongside Australian Roy Emerson as our most successful ever champion. A fifth title would be well deserved for someone who has shown as much loyalty to Auckland as the Spaniard has.

Ferrer has been hot on the heals of the ‘Big Four’ (Federer, Nadal, Murray and Djokovic) for the past decade. Often considered the unluckiest player not to capture a Grand Slam, the Spaniard has won 26 ATP career titles and amassed more than $30 million in prize money – the seventh highest of all time. Ferrer enjoyed another consistent season reaching his fifth ATP semi-final of the year in Beijing last week (Auckland, Buenos Aires, Bastad and Geneva).

The world number 15 is excited to be returning to Auckland, a place he says he feels ‘at home’.

“I am always very happy to play in Auckland. It always has very strong competition and is a nice crowd to play in front of. I feel at home there. I have had a lot of success in Auckland and I hope that I can win one more event.”

Tournament Director, Karl Budge has glowing praise for Ferrer. “David is a special player. To have a guy who has been a perennial top ten player consistently come back year on year has helped cement the ASB Classic as one of the most respected events amongst players. It certainly gives other players a lot of confidence in what we are doing,” says Budge.

American Isner, a two-time ASB Classic champion, is considered one of the fastest servers of the ATP World Tour and will be looking to bring his not-so-secret weapon to Auckland.

“I love playing in Auckland. The event is great, the crowds are always full and there is just a great atmosphere out there. I have won the title twice and feel like I play very well there. The courts will be fast again which suits my game and with the likes of Ferrer in the draw, there should be some good battles between the big servers and the returners,” Isner says.

The ASB Classic Men’s field is starting to shape up as a battle of the former Champions with Ferrer and Isner joining defending champion Roberto Bautista Agut who was recently announced in the 2017 line-up. “It’s always great to have past winners coming back. We want guys that we know are going to play hard and try to win the title. Ferrer to me opitomises the fight we want to see and we know how well Isner and Bautista play here,” Budge says.

The 2017 tournament is set to be the biggest yet with record breaking ticket sales so far. “This year has gone to new levels and I encourage people to purchase their tickets early to avoid missing out.”

More player signings will be announced in the coming months with the full men’s and women’s line-up to be announced late November.

The ASB Classic will span for two weeks; the women's tournament kicking off on January 2nd to 7th followed by the men’s tournament from January 9th to 14th. Tickets are available for purchase through Ticketek. You can purchase tickets either online, over the phone on (0800 842 538) or in person at one of the agencies listed on the Ticketek website.

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