The post-Australian Open swing prior to Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells and Miami may be thought of as a relative lull on the annual tennis calendar. But don’t sleep on the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, a 500-point tournament that is the highlight of the month of February.
Although the ABN AMRO festivities are still a month away (February 13-19), tournament director Richard Krajicek has already secured a handful of elite commitments. Among the players who have signed up are Felix Auger-Aliassime, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Andy Murray, Holger Rune, and Dutchman Botic Van de Zandschulp. Stan Wawrinka and Tim van Rijthoven have received wild cards.
Auger-Aliassime (2022), Rublev (2021), and Wawrinka (2015) are former champions.
Wawrinka currently registers at No. 139 in the rankings following an injury-plagued 2022 campaign, but he showed signs of a resurgence with a quarterfinal performance last fall in Basel. The 37-year-old Swiss posted impressive victories over Casper Ruud and Brandon Nakashima in front of the home crowd before falling to Roberto Bautista Agut.
“We like to see our former winners return at the ABN AMRO Open,” Krajicek assured. “Especially when it involves a player with the track record of Stan Wawrinka. His [three Grand Slam titles] actually speaks for itself. Every tournament and every fan will look forward to being able to see him in action live.
“Stan went through two longer periods where injuries hindered him. However, in Basel he showed he is back on the road–which is why we are all happy he will be here in February.”
Auger-Aliassime’s triumph last February marked the first ATP title of his career. He went on to capture three more individual titles in 2022 and also led Canada to the Davis Cup championship. Auger-Aliassime defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 6-2 in the Rotterdam final.
great field
Rotterdam will be awesome….will watch on TC.