Preview of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament from Rotterdam in the Netherlands from 9th to 17th February 2019
The Rotterdam ATP 500 tournament is one of the oldest tour events having started in 1974 and this years 2019 event has a high class field showing the respect the players hold for this dutch event.
ABN AMRO has always been the sponsor this tournament, which in the beginning was part of the WCT-Series (World Championship of Tennis), the precursor to what is now the ATP World Tour. The first tournament had a Dutch winner, Tom Okker, who beat Tom Gorman in the final. After the initial Dutch success, it would take 21 years, until 1995, for another Dutch player to win the tournament. The current tournament director Richard Krajicek was only the second player to ensure a Dutch victory. Given the quality of the participating players this is no surprise seeing as the past winners list is like a ‘who’s who’ of great tennis champions: Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg, Guillermo Vilas, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker and Roger Federer.
In 2018 the tournament was won by Roger Federer who secured is 97th ATP Tour title by beating Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets in the final. Federer had his usual smooth run through the event only dropping 1 set in the whole tournament. That was when he played local man Robin Haase.
So far Federer hasn’t entered the 2019 event but the draw includes a host of top names which should make for a thrilling tournament. Some of the top ranked players in the tournament so far are Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori, Karen Khachanov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Kyle Edmund, Daniil Medvedev and Milos Raonic.
Where is the tournament held?
The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament is held every year at the Rotterdam AHOY Arena
What dates does the tournament run?
February 9th, 2019 to February 17th, 2019
What court surface is the tournament played on?
The surface is indoor hard courts
How many players and how many seeds are in the tournament?
There are a total of 32 men and there will be 8 seeded players in the Men’s singles draw
What is the prize money and how many ATP ranking points are available?
The tournament is an ATP 500 which means that the winner receives 2000 ATP or WTA World Ranking points, with the complete breakdown of points and prize money awarded as follows:
Winner – 500 pts – €405,030
Runner up – 300 pts – €203,420
Semi finals – 180 pts – €102,635
Quarter finals – 90 pts – €53,940
2nd round – 45 pts – €26,960
1st round – 20 pts – €14,915
Who is the reigning Champions?
In the 2018 Men’s Singles, Roger Federer defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-2
Where can I buy tickets for the tournament?
You can buy tickets online by clicking here
How can I follow the tournament without going there?
To watch the live scores of every match in this tournament as they happen you can use the Tennishead exclusive Live Scores service here.
You can also follow this tournament on their official Twitter here
Alternatively you can watch the tennis live on television and full details of how to do this can be found here
Who has entered the 2019 tournament draw? (This may change nearer the time depending on injuries)
So far the Men’s singles tournament entries are as follows:
- Alexander Zverev
- Marin Cilic
- Kei Nishikori
- Karen Khachanov
- Kyle Edmund
- Stefanos Tsitsipas
- Daniil Medvedev
- Milos Raonic
- Grigor Dimitrov
- Nikoloz Basilashvili
- David Goffin
- Roberto Bautista Agut
- Hyeon Chung
- Richard Gasquet
- Denis Shapovalov
- Fernando Verdasco
- Gael Monfils
- Lucas Pouille
- Philipp Kohlschreiber
- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga*
- Nick Kyrgios
- Marton Fucsovics
- Andreas Seppi
Past Champions – Men’s Singles
Prediction for 2019
Roger Federer hasn’t entered and is unlikely to at this late stage which means the door is wide open for a new winner in 2019. Jo Wilfred Tsonga has won this tournament in the past but his form isn’t as good as it was back then. As Rotterdam is an indoor event then you have to look at some of the big servers and there is none bigger than Milos Raonic. He’s also in good form after a decent run at the Australian Open. Daniil Medvedev is on a high at the moment and his flat style of play will always cause problems on this surface. Do the conditions suit Stefanos Tsitsipas? Probably not as he prefers slightly more time to prepare for the ball than he will get indoors. Karen Khachanov won in Paris at the end of last year beating Djokovic along the way so he can’t be overlooked, but the winner this year will surely come from either of the top 2 seeds, Marin Cilic or Alexander Zverev. Zverev won the last indoor event at the ATP Tour World Finals, and even though he had a disappointing Australian Open, we think his pedigree indoors in Europe will see him win this event. Good luck to everyone!
Look ahead to 2019 with our guide to every tournament on the ATP Tour, the WTA Tour and the ITF Tour
If you can’t visit the tournaments you love then do the next best thing and read our guide on how to watch all the ATP Tour matches on television in 2019
To read more amazing articles like this you can explore Tennishead magazine here or you can subscribe for free to our email newsletter here
