Three-time Grand Slam champion joins stellar field in Rotterdam
The three-time Grand Slam champion and 2015 Rotterdam winner Stan Wawrinka is set to play this strong ATP 500 event between February 11-17 next year, joining Alexander Zverev, Marin Cilic, Kei Nishikori, Grigor Dimitrov, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Hyeon Chung and Nick Kyrgios who have already signed to compete at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament. World number 66 will make his fourth trip to Rotterdam (he had to withdraw in 2017 due to a knee injury that later sidelined him from the second part of the season after Wimbledon), losing in the opening round in 2005 and 2018 and winning the title in 2015, his only on an indoor court in a career.
Stan is currently ranked 66th after a shaky 2018 that saw him recovering from a knee surgery (August 2017) that forced him to reduce the schedule and miss the events like Indian Wells, Miami and Madrid. Unable to compete at his best, Wawrinka won 17 ATP matches, reaching the semi-final in Sofia and St. Petersburg and the quarter-final in Cincinnati where Roger Federer defeated him after a great battle. Stan hit the rock bottom in Rotterdam 2018, losing in the opening round against world number 259 Tallon Griekspoor and missing the next three months after retiring in the first round of Marseille in the following week.
Stan will kick off 2019 season in Doha before traveling to Melbourne where he won the title in 2014 and played in the semi-final twice. Sofia, Marseille and Acapulco are also in Stan's February calendar and he looks eager and determined to get back where he belongs and become a contender for the big titles again at the age of 33.
Richard Krajicek: "We always like to welcome former champions. Stan had a difficult year but has recovered from his injury. When he indicated that he would like to return to Rotterdam, we gladly welcomed this opportunity. He is the player with perhaps the most beautiful backhand on the ATP Tour and in 2015 he showed how well he can do in Rotterdam."
from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/2AVydtd
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