Mikhail Youzhny, who reached No. 8 in the world in 2008, found himself in familiar territory when he attended the draw ceremony for the St. Petersburg Open. The ATP World Tour 250 tournament returns to the Russian city after a one-year hiatus.

Youzhny will play against Tommy Robredo in the first round. He is one of three Russian wild cards in the tournament, joining compatriots Evgeny Donskoy and Andrey Rublev.

“I’m happy to be back in St. Petersburg,” said Youzhny, the 2004 St. Petersburg champion. “It’s an important tournament for my career and one that I try to play every year. Everyone was disappointed when the tournament didn’t take place last year, but now we can see how well-organized it is for an [ATP World Tour] 250 event. The stadium is nice. You can feel the atmosphere.

“It will be a tough tournament, with so many players coming back from Davis Cup and trying to adjust,” added Youzhny. “You can already see that there will be many good matches, even in the first round. For tennis fans, it will be really interesting.”

Headlining the 28-man field are World No. 6 Tomas Berdych and No. 9 Milos Raonic. Rising Austrian star Dominic Thiem, Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, Tommy Robredo, Benoit Paire, Joao Sousa and Mikhail Kukushkin are the other seeded players.