Monte Carlo [Monaco], March 29 : A pair of former champions, Stan Wawrinka and Fabio Fognini, have been awarded wild cards for the 2023 Monte Carlo Masters, the orgsers of the event announced on Tuesday.
The clay-court ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Monaco, to be held from April 9-16, announced on Tuesday that it will welcome back former World No. 3 Wawrinka for a 12th main-draw appearance at the Monte-Carlo Country Club. The Swiss defeated his countryman Roger Federer to lift the trophy in 2014 and also reached the semi-finals in 2009 at an event where he holds a 21-11 record.
Fognini, a nine-time tour-level champion, celebrated his victory in Monaco in 2019 after defeating 11-time champion Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev en route to the trophy.
The third wild card was awarded to Jack Draper. The 21-year-old British hopeful, on the rise, had won the first set this season against Rafael Nadal in the first round of the Australian Open. After dominating his compatriots Del Evans and Andy Murray recently in Indian Wells, he had to give up during the match against Carlos Alcaraz in the round of 16.
On Tuesday, there were two more wild card entrants for the 56-man main draw. Both Valentin Vacherot and fast-rising 21-year-old Jack Draper ranked No. 43 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, will play in their first-ever main-draw match in Monte Carlo. In the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Vacherot, who is ranked 322nd in the world, is the top player from Monaco.
With a record 11 title victories, Rafael Nadal is the most successful player to have ever competed in Monte Carlo.
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