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After Jack Sock, the organizers of the ATP 500 event in Basel have revealed the other two players who will compete in the main draw after receiving the remaining wild cards, allowing Taylor Fritz and Henri Laaksonen to enter the strong field and chase some nice point in the penultimate week of the regular ATP season. World number 56 Taylor Fritz has secured the place at the NextGen Masters in Milan despite losing in the opening round of Stockholm this week and he will seek his 50th ATP win in Basel where he played once before, losing to Mischa Zverev at the start of the tournament.
After struggling to find the form in 2017, Taylor had a solid season so far in 2018, clinching 20 ATP wins and reaching the semi-final in Houston and Chengdu, together with the fourth round result at Indian Wells. In addition, Taylor won 15 Challenger matches, winning the title in Newport Beach and playing in the final of Noumea.
The 26-year-old Henri Laaksonen has not enjoyed the best season so far, advancing into the last four in Bastad and playing in the final of Chengdu Challenger. This is the sixth time Laaksonen has received a wild card for the main draw in Basel and he will try to score the first win at home event.
Paul-Henri Mathieu defeated him in 2012 in straight sets and it was Juan Martin del Potro who ousted Laaksonen at the start of 2013 edition. He hadn't received a wild card in 2014, losing in the opening qualifying round before returning to the main stage in the last three years, winning one set against Donald Young, Marcel Granollers and Borna Coric, hoping for a better outcome next week and his first win in front of the home crowd.
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