Travel N Table

The Land of the Rising Sun hosts the longest-running tennis tournament in the ATP World Tour in Asia since 1973: the Rakuten Japan Open, which last year won by Rafael Nadal. Held between October 3 and 10 at the Ariake Colosseum, the defending champion will have strong contenders in Andy Murray, Marady Fish, David Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic. This ATP World Tour 500 series tournament is disputed in hard-court where rain won’t be an issue, since its main court counts with a retractable roof.Since the first edition of the Shangai Masters was held in 2009, the impression it caused on players was such that they designated as the best ATP World Tour Master 1000 series tournament of that year. Held from October 9 through 16 at China, its hard courts match up most of the top ranked players in the world such as Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Tomas Berdiych or Junger Melzer, against whom Andy Murray will be defending his title.The Kremlin Cup is a boost for Russian tennis player, since 14 out of its 21 editions have been won by them. Held from October 17 to 23 at Moscow, Russia, World No. 43 Viktor Troicki will be defending his crown, which last year represented his first ATP World Tour tittle. Disputed in indoor hard surface, this tournament is part of the 250 series.

Austria’s capital city, Viena, will be hosting the Erste Bank Open between October 24 and 30. Defending champion is a man of the house, Jurgen Melzer, who last year defeated countryman Andreas Haider-Maurer in the final, becoming the first player since Ivan Ljubicic (2005-2006) to win back-to-back titles. He will be challenged this year by top players such as Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Martin del Potro and Juan Carlos Ferrero, among others. Famous for its beautiful architecture, which preserves its rich history, the Russian city if St. Petersburg hosts since 1995 the ATP World Tour 250 series tournament that holds its name: St. Petersburg Open. This year defending champion Mikhail Kukushkin from Kazakhstan will try to join Russian Marat Safin and Englishman Andy Murray as the only back-to-back title winners.