After Rafael Nadal: Stefanos Tsitsipas and Denis Shapovalov also want to serve in Rotterdam
The organizers of the ATP 500 event in Rotterdam can look forward to additional top-class participants in their field. With Stefanos Tsitsipas , Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic , three more top 15 players will start.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Jan 27, 2021, 05:30 pm
There is every reason to be happy in Rotterdam these days. The organizers of the ATP 500 event, which is scheduled to take place one week after the end of the Australian Open, benefit from a situation similar to that which the organizers of the Erste Bank Open did in October of the previous year. Due to the changes in the calendar caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the athletes at the top of the world rankings are also extremely happy to play. First and foremost, of course, in Europe, where the travel strains are manageable for many - and there is a certain degree of planning security.
That led to an absolute top commitment a few days ago, as world number two, Rafael Nadal, promised to start in the Netherlands. Daniil Medvedev and Andrey Rublev also announced their start in Northern Europe some time ago. As it became known on Wednesday, it will even be a quartet that will travel to Rotterdam from the top 10 of the world rankings: Now Stefanos Tsitsipas has also announced that he wants to serve at the ATP 500 event.
Monfils defending champion
At the same time as the Greek, the two Canadians Denis Shapovalov and Milos Raonic have announced that they will start in the Netherlands. This means that in early March - as of now - nine of the top 15 in the world rankings will open in Rotterdam. The defending champion will be the Frenchman Gael Monfils, who has recently been looked after by Günter Bresnik , at the indoor event. Monfils defeated Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final last year. The Rotterdam ATP 500 event is scheduled to take place from March 1st to 7th.