'In 2018 Federer played Rotterdam and everything went well. This year...'
A lot of top players withdrew from this week's Rotterdam Open. The list is a long one: Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Kyle Edmund, Grigor Dimitrov, Roberto Bautista Agut, Richard Gasquet, Lucas Pouille and Nick Kyrgios could not make it to the Dutch event due to injuries. The Tournament Director Richard Krajicek is clearly disappointed with it. "It's just a pity, but injuries are part of the game", he told Nos. "This year we have less more than what we want. Last year we also had withdrawals but then we had Roger Federer, so everything went well, but now we lost the first and second seeds."
Krajicek feels for the many fans who bought tickets as well. "I think that's really bad. But I do not know if I feel responsible for it, it's not my fault. There are years where there are more injuries. I understand it because I dealt with many injuries as well."
In 2006, there were most withdrawals: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Marat Safin, Sebastien Grosjean e l'olandese Sjeng Schalken, Martin Verkerk and Peter Wessels withdrew. In 1996 Pete Sampras had signed a $500,000 agreement but he withdrew due to a foot injury. Then just a week after he played in Indian Wells. During the 80s John McEnroe withdrew an hour before the main draw took place, in 1985, and Boris Becker withdrew four times. According to Krajicek, the tournament's image is not correct. "All the tournaments have to deal with withdrawals, the average is three or four, and this year it's eight. This number stands out but it happens everywhere and it's part of the game."
from Tennis World USA http://bit.ly/2GkJVT6
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