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Tournament Preview: ATP Rotterdam

Britwatch Team
Tennis

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By Britwatch Team

  • Top Seeds: Richard Gasquet, Marin Cilic, Gilles Simon, David Goffin
  • 2015 Champion: Stan Wawrinka

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – With the withdrawal of Roger Federer with a torn meniscus, Richard Gasquet looks to continue his comeback as the top seed for the second week running

Britwatch Tennis:

Top Quarter – Richard Gasquet

After his false start to the year with injury, and missing the Aussie swing, Gasquet hits the top spot for the second time in as many weeks. It’s been a good start to a delayed season for the Frenchman, going deep in Montpellier.

Rotterdam has not always been the happiest of hunting grounds for him though, with his best result being the quarter-finals in 2012 but no back to back wins either side.

His seeded opposition is Viktor Troicki who has been enjoying a deep run of his own in Sofia, and has been fairly consistent.

Second Quarter – David Goffin

Goffin occupies the fourth seed spot and returns to the fray after being positively schooled by Federer at the Australian Open in the fourth round. Rotterdam has been less than productive for the Belgian, who has never advanced past the first round here.

It is certainly not the easiest of starts for him as he faces tour veteran Marcos Baghdatis who made it as far as the Montpellier quarter-finals.

Also lying in wait for Goffin is Roberto Bautista Agut, who also made the Australian Open fourth round, and is running deep in Sofia. He will be looking to advance further than his second round place in his Rotterdam debut last year.

Third Quarter – Gilles Simon

In a quarter topped and tailed by Frenchmen, Simon would have been expected to shine in Montpellier, but lost his opener to Dustin Brown. His high point of the year so far was pushing World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to five sets in the fourth round of the Australian Open, and perhaps better things were expected on home turf, where he has been regularly to the quarter-finals and once to the semi-finals.

Monfils may have thrilled and horrified folks in equal measure with his flight through the air to fly into the Australian Open quarter-finals, but there he ran out of steam to the inspired Milos Raonic. The Frenchman might have hoped to get some more air-time in Montpellier, but was bounced out in the first round by compatriot and qualifier Edouard Roger-Vasselin, and once more draws a qualifier in his first round.

 

Bottom Quarter – Marin Cilic

Cilic will be looking to put his early Montpellier exit behind him as he comes in as the second fiddle to Gasquet once again. His progress was arrested by Alexander Zverev who went on to reach the Montpellier semi-finals and has a wildcard into Rotterdam.

A finalist two years ago, he will want to get his season back on track and should be able to handle the mercurial Benoit Paire, the other seed in his quarter. Paire hardly covered himself in glory at the Australian Open, losing to wildcard Noah Rubin and then berating both his performance and that of his opponent. Losing his opening round in Montpellier has hardly helped further his causes to shine.

The ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament takes place between  8-14 February.