ABN AMRO 2019, Rotterdam, Netherlands, ATP 500

[britbox]

DATE: 11-17 February 2019
SURFACE: Indoor Hard
PRIZE MONEY: €1,961,160
FIELD SIZE: 32
2018 CHAMPION: Roger Federer

Seeds:

1. NISHIKORI, Kei
2. KHACHANOV, Karen
3. TSITSIPAS, Stefanos
4. RAONIC, Milos
5. MEDVEDEV, Daniil
6. POUILLE, Lucas
7. BAUTISTA AGUT, Roberto (withdrawn)
8. GOFFIN, David

The Tournament:

The first edition of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, held in 1974, was won by Dutch tennis ace Tom Okker. Tennis fans in The Netherlands had to wait until 1995 for another Dutchman, Richard Krajicek, to title at the indoor hard-court event. Winners in the intervening years have included illustrious players, such as Arthur Ashe, Jimmy Connors, Björn Borg, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg. Since then, stars such as Roger Federer, Yevgeny Kafelnikov, Lleyton Hewitt and Andy Murray have all lifted the trophy. Src: ATP

About Rotterdam

Rotterdam is a major port city in the Dutch province of South Holland. The Maritime Museum's vintage ships and exhibits trace the city's seafaring history.

The 17th-century Delfshaven neighbourhood is home to canalside shopping and Pilgrim Fathers Church, where pilgrims worshipped before sailing to America.

After being almost completely reconstructed following WWII, the city is now known for bold, modern architecture.

Tourism Guide



5 Fun Facts About Rotterdam

The port is the second-largest in the world

You can travel the city by water-taxi

The main shopping area is called the gutter

Rotterdam has the highest number of professional football clubs in the Netherlands

Rotterdam has special Mayors - they have a regular mayor, a night mayor and a youth mayor.

 

[britbox]

The Draw:

 

[britbox]

 

[GameSetAndMath]

Nice bunch of next gens and notable lost gens in the seeded player list. This tournament usually has a strong field, partly due to lack of competing 500s in the same week (many other 500s run in parallel) and partly because people have had time to recover from AO.

 

[Moxie]

I have Nishikori losing to Herbert early. Am I bandwagoning? Or just thinking that Kei is not fit?

 

[mrzz]

From the 16 sets played on the qualifiers matches today, 8 went to the tie break. Surface lightning quick I guess.

 

[Moxie]

From the 16 sets played on the qualifiers matches today, 8 went to the tie break. Surface lightning quick I guess.

Here's a question: why Indoor HC event at this point of the season? Oh, apparently there can be indoor/outdoor clay/HC during lots of places in the calendar. We only need to be precious about indoor HC at the YEC.

 

[Front242]

Here's a question: why Indoor HC event at this point of the season? Oh, apparently there can be indoor/outdoor clay/HC during lots of places in the calendar. We only need to be precious about indoor HC at the YEC.

The YEC/WTF is a big tournament worth up to 1500 points and there's no other indoor hard court event on the whole tour worth this many points. They're not changing it to clay anytime soon. There's already a slam on clay and that's enough. The YEC/WTF being indoor and a big tournament adds to the diversity of the tour.

 

[herios]

Here's a question: why Indoor HC event at this point of the season? Oh, apparently there can be indoor/outdoor clay/HC during lots of places in the calendar. We only need to be precious about indoor HC at the YEC.

Because it's winter in the northern emisphere.

 

[tented]

Because it's winter in the northern emisphere.

So it could be moved to the Southern Hemisphere (Buenos Aires, for example), and be an outdoor — even clay — tournament.

 

[herios]

So it could be moved to the Southern Hemisphere (Buenos Aires, for example), and be an outdoor — even clay — tournament.

There is a clay event already in Buenos Aires the same week. I thought you were aware of it.

 

[tented]

There is a clay event already in Buenos Aires the same week. I thought you were aware of it.

I was referring to the YEC/ATP finals, which is what I thought you were referencing above.

 

[herios]

I was referring to the YEC/ATP finals, which is what I thought you were referencing above.

In that case, money talks. Argentina does not have the finances to support such an event.

 

[herios]

So it could be moved to the Southern Hemisphere (Buenos Aires, for example), and be an outdoor — even clay — tournament.

By the way, if you read carefully what @Moxie said "why an indoor event at this point in the season", she was talking about Rotterdam and not YEC.
Then @Front242 intervened in the discussion bringing YEC up. It is. Rotterdam thread, so we should stick with it.

 

[Moxie]

By the way, if you read carefully what @Moxie said "why an indoor event at this point in the season", she was talking about Rotterdam and not YEC.
Then @Front242 intervened in the discussion bringing YEC up. It is. Rotterdam thread, so we should stick with it.

No, I was referencing the YEC. I thought that was clear, since I actually said "YEC." There is no reason to shoe-horn indoor HC tournaments into this part of the year, IMO, just for the sake of playing more in Europe. There are plenty of warm-weather venues and southern Hemisphere ones to play outdoors. The tennis calendar is very European-centric. That's not necessary. And yes, my point was: if the YEC HAS to be indoor HCs, because that's the part of the calendar dedicated to indoor HCs, then what about other indoor HCs at this time of the year? What about clay in the summer? Doesn't that mean that the calendar is a bit more malleable in terms of how precious we are about what gets played, and when? You say BA doesn't have the money to support a YEC event. Maybe, but I'd like to know what you base that on. But surely Miami does. Indian Wells does. Australia does. Dubai does.

 

[GameSetAndMath]

There are clay tourneys before clay season, during clay season and after clay season. I had never seen you complain about that. You are complaining about Rotterdam being indoor HC when there is a legitimate reason for it.

 

[Moxie]

There are clay tourneys before clay season, during clay season and after clay season. I had never seen you complain about that. You are complaining about Rotterdam being indoor HC when there is a legitimate reason for it.

I actually mentioned the clay tournaments. I'm just asking the question. It seems to me that tennis was never intended to be played indoors. This is an invention by the Euro-centric events because there was nowhere else to play, given that no one even went to Australia for the AO. Now that we have modern air travel, I don't see any reason. There are plenty of places to play the sport as designed, i.e., for the out of doors. :lulz2:

 

[isabelle]

sick Pouille pulled out Shapo 'll be seed N°10

 

[Moxie]

sick Pouille pulled out Shapo 'll be seed N°10

Like a flu? Not injury?

 

[kskate2]

Stan the Man has manboobs.