Carlos Alcaraz’s monumental Australian Open victory caused a major change to the Spaniard’s upcoming schedule.
Alcaraz instantly pulled out of the Rotterdam Open, where he was set to defend his title at the indoor hardcourt event.
The Spaniard’s next tournament will now be the Qatar Open, as he looks to extend his lead at the top of the ATP Tour over Jannik Sinner.
Alcaraz’s withdrawal was a huge blow for the Rotterdam Open, and its tournament director, Richard Krajicek has divulged his thoughts on the scheduling change.
Richard Krajicek was not shocked by Carlos Alcaraz’s withdrawal
Krajicek has been the tournament director at the Rotterdam Open for several years now, which is why Alcaraz’s withdrawal came as no surprise to him.
The star was near-certain that Alcaraz would pull out of the Dutch tournament after watching his exploits in Melbourne.
Speaking on Greg Rusedski’s podcast, Krajicek said: “When I saw him on Friday [in the Australian Open semi-final] I was actually surprised because I was going in a meeting at 5-4 when Zverev was serving for the match.
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“I had to turn off my phone, and then I turned it on an hour later and not only did he win, but he won four games in a row. So I was like, okay.
“And then I thought, okay, this is going to be difficult because if he had lost, you don’t have the emotion of winning that grand slam, and you have two more days to recover.
“I thought there was still a pretty good chance he was going to play. But when he made the final, I thought, yeah [he’s going to withdraw]. Monday morning I got the message from his agent.”
Despite the last-minute withdrawal, the 1996 Wimbledon champion was not angry at Alcaraz’s latest decision.
“And yeah, people, ah, were like, ‘Were you swearing in your house?’ I said, you know what? In a way, you expect it.
“It was not a big surprise like you said, it was unbelievably draining, and having the cramps, and then still coming back two days later, even though it was a relatively easy final physically compared to the semis, and it was only 15 degrees Celsius, so it wasn’t hot still. Yeah, like I said, I wasn’t shocked.”
Alcaraz was not the only player to withdraw from Rotterdam, with Alexander Zverev and Jack Draper following in the Spaniard’s footsteps.
Who are now the top seeds at the Rotterdam Open?
Despite several high-profile withdrawals, the Rotterdam Open is still stacked with some of the biggest stars in tennis.
Alex de Minaur will be the number one seed, while number two seed Felix Auger-Aliassime should be considered the favourite for the tournament, due to his indoor hardcourt record and win in Montpelier.
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Brand-new top ten player Alexander Bublik will be the third seed, while the resurgent Daniil Medvedev is the fourth top ranked player.
Rotterdam Open seeds
- Alex de Minaur
- Félix Auger-Aliassime
- Alexander Bublik
- Daniil Medvedev
- Karen Khachanov
- Cameron Norrie
- Tallon Griekspoor
- Arthur Rinderknech
On the British side of things, it’s testament to Cameron Norrie’s ranking that he is the sixth seed in the event.
Home favourite Tallon Griekspoor will be looking to become the first Dutchman to win the event since Krajicek in 1997.
