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World No. 16 Aslan Karatsev and Indian Wells Masters runner-up Nikoloz Basilashvili have both withdrawn from the Stockholm Open. Karatsev, who made his maiden Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open earlier this year, had been expected to make his Stockholm debut this year.
After losing to Sebastian Korda in the Paris Masters first round, Karatsev was left without chances to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals so he decided to skip Stockholm. On the other side, Basilashvili also won't be making his Stockholm debut this year.
Following the withdrawals of Karatsev and Basilashvili, a place in the Stockholm main draw opened for Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Ilya Ivashka.
Karatsev suffered a tight Paris loss
On Monday, Korda edged out Karatsev 6-2 6-7 (9) 7-6 (5).
"I knew what to expect and it all came down to the clutch moments,” Korda said in his on-court interview. “It was so much fun to play in front of the Paris crowd, they get so fired up and it is so awesome. "I had a lot of chances in the second set and I didn’t take them.
Then he broke me and I broke back and it was a dog fight in the end. I had match points in the second set and learnt a few things in the tie-break. It was just getting myself back into those break point opportunities and finding a way." Meanwhile, Basilashvili hasn't played since losing the Indian Wells final to Cameron Norrie.
After the final, Basilashvili insisted he was hampered by a physical issue but he refused to reveal by which one. "I don't know, I was feeling tight. I had some health problems so I tried to step out in the third to take a breath but I could not recover.
I had it already little in previous matches and now it was too severe. I will not say what it is but I did not feel good," Basilashvili said.