The 2019 Sofia Open is set to play host to arguably its greatest ever field as the tournament begins just one week after the Australian Open finishes in Melbourne.
Six top 30 players are already confirmed for the tournament at the time of writing, while current No. 66 Stan Wawrinka will also return to Sofia for the second straight year after making the semi-finals in 2018.
Wawrinka endured a stop-start season in 2018 as he returned from knee surgery, but there were signs at stages throughout the year - especially towards the tail-end - that the three-time major champion was gradually recapturing his best form. Is 2019 the year Wawrinka makes it back into the top 10 and once again challenges for silverware on the ATP World Tour?
Karen Khachanov will be trying to build on his outstanding end to 2018 when he beat World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to capture his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Paris. The young Russian surged up to No. 11 as a result and will be looking to take his game to the next level in 2019 - and that means challenging for major prizes and becoming the top dog at ATP 250 tournaments such as the Sofia Open.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is in the same boat. The first Greek man in history to win an ATP World Tour title when he triumphed in Stockholm last season, Tsitsipas finished 2018 as the World No. 15 after also finishing runner-up in Barcelona and the Canada Masters, the latter in which he beat four top 10 players before going down to Rafael Nadal in the final.
Nikoloz Basilashvili isn’t one of the young stars coming through the ranks, but the Georgian was undoubtedly one of the most improved players on tour in 2018, winning two ATP 500 titles in Hamburg and Beijing to sky-rocket up to No. 21 in the world, while veterans Fernando Verdasco and Gael Monfils can never be discounted in any tournament - along with former Sofia champion Roberto Bautista Agut, who traditionally thrives in events staged at the beginning of the season.
Stay tuned as more players are announced for the 2019 Sofia Open in the coming weeks!