A second straight week of three tournaments on the ATP Tour will see action in Rotterdam, Buenos Aires and Dallas.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is the top seed on his return to the ABN Amro World Tennis Tournament, an ATP 500 event on indoor hard courts in the Netherlands. Casper Ruud leads the field at the Argentina Open (clay court), while American Taylor Fritz is the top seed at the Dallas Open (indoor hard), with both events rated ATP 250.
In addition, Juan Martín del Potro will take the field for the first time since 2019 in Buenos Aires in what may be one of the last events of his career.
ATPTour.com looks to the future at five things to watch at each event.
View Draws: Rotterdam | Buenos Aires | Dallas
FIVE THINGS TO SEE IN ROTTERDAM:
1) Tsitsipas, favorite: the Greek has played in Rotterdam every year since 2017 (including a 2018 qualifying loss) and is 4-4 in the hard court event. He reached the semi-finals a year ago before bowing out to eventual champion Andrey Rublev.
After reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open, Tsitsipas hopes to put his recent elbow injury behind him with a deep run. After the ATP Cup and the first Slam of the year, Rotterdam will be his third event since right elbow surgery at the end of 2021.
2) Defending Champion Rublev: Like Tsitsipas, Rublev has also competed in Rotterdam each of the last five years. His 2021 title run saw him defeat Marton Fucsovics in the final after beating Tsitsipas and Andy Murray early in the draw.
Earlier in the season, the Russian had two dominant wins at the Australian Open before Marin Cilic ended his run in the third round. The second seed in Rotterdam will open against a qualifier, with a potential quarter-final duel against seventh seed Aslan Karatsev.
3) Murray present: Murray accepted a late WC and will make his seventh appearance in Rotterdam, where he beat Rafael Nadal in the 2009 final. He lost to Rublev in the second round last year and will now face Montpellier champion Alexander Bublik, in the first round.
Murray has already reached the final of the Sydney Tennis Classic in 2022, his first tour-level title match since his victory in Antwerp in 2019. He then showed his trademark fighting spirit in a five-set win over Nikoloz Basilashvili at the Open. from Australia, but was unable to repeat that performance following a second-round loss to Japan’s Taro Daniel.
4) Or Canada: After leading their nation to the 2022 ATP Cup title, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov moved within a set of the Australian Open semi-finals after a pair of impressive runs. Auger-Aliassime was leading Daniil Medvedev (who withdrew from Rotterdam) 2-0 in their quarter-final clash, while Shapovalov forced eventual champion Nadal to a fifth set in the round of the last eight.
Both are seeded in Rotterdam, and will clash with qualifiers in the first round. Positioned on opposite halves of the draw, they hope to meet in the final.
5) Former Champion Tsonga: The 2017 Rotterdam champion comes into this year’s event with some momentum after earning his first win since March 2019 at the Open Sud de France. While he ultimately lost to fifth seed Filip Krajinovic, 6-4, 7-6(2), in the second round, the former World No. 5 showed signs his game is improving.
FIVE THINGS TO SEE IN BUENOS AIRES
1) Farewell to Delpo?: Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro revealed on Saturday that Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro could be the last two tournaments of his career. Although he stopped short of announcing his retirement in an emotional press conference, the 34-year-old’s first-round match against compatriot Federico Delbonis is now unmissable.
You may also be interested in: Del Potro and a possible goodbye: “It will be more of a farewell than a return”
–
2) The return of Ruud: Casper Ruud has withdrawn from the Australian Open after spraining his ankle just before the event. His only previous action this season was at the ATP Cup, where he posted a 2-1 record for Norway, including a win over Cristian Garin. He will face Roberto Carballés Baena or a qualifier in his first match.
3) Local Favorites: Despite having top seed Diego Schwartzman as one of 10 Argentines in the Cordoba Open draw, there was no local representation in the final of this event. Defending champion Schwartzman returns to first place among his compatriots as the second seed in Buenos Aires, where seven Argentines (not including potential qualifiers) will compete in the main draw.
4) Start of Sonego: the Italian has recorded at least one victory in each of his three 2022 events, including a run to the third round as the 25th seed at the Australian Open. In their opening clash, Sonego will look to keep that streak alive against Sebastian Baez or Holger Rune, who both accepted WC at the event.
5) Bolleli/González, the top seeds in doubles: Simone Bolelli and Máximo González will try to win their fourth tour-level crown as a team in Buenos Aires. They will have plenty of competition in second seeds Fabio Fognini and Horacio Zeballos, third seeds Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar and fourth seeds Tomislav Brkic and Nikola Cacic.
FIVE THINGS TO SEE IN DALLAS
1) Fritz the favorite: The 24-year-old is getting used to life as the American No. 1, but said he won’t be too proud until he can improve his ATP Rankings to go along with it. After a run to the fourth round of the Australian Open, his first time beyond the third round at a Slam, Fritz enters Dallas ranked 20th, a career-high. He will open against either Oscar Otte or WC Jack Sock.
2) Cressy looks for the Top 50: Career fresh off the fourth round of the Australian Open, where he gave Medvedev all he could in four sets, former UCLA star Maxime Cressy enters Dallas as the sixth seed. Now sitting at a career-high No. 59 in the ATP Rankings, the serve-and-volley specialist could crack the Top 50 with a few more wins. He faces a first-round qualifier, then would meet WC Caleb Chakravarthi (a senior at tournament host Southern Methodist University) or another qualifier in the second round.
3) Brooksby’s return: After missing the Australian tour, 21-year-old Jenson Brooksby makes his 2022 tour debut as the fourth seed in Dallas. Last year’s Newport finalist competed in the Columbus Challenger in late January, losing to Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka in the semi-finals. Brooksby is one of 14 Americans in the Dallas draw, not including potential qualifiers.
4) Tall Players – We’ll see some big men and some more powerful serves in a fascinating little section of the draw. Kevin Anderson and Sam Querrey are set to play in the first round, with the winner facing third seed John Isner, who will start the second round as the third seed. Expect a tie-break or two.
5) Return after 30 years: One of the oldest tournaments in the United States is anchored in the Lone Star State with the relocation of the New York Open. Now the Dallas Open, the 2022 event, marks the return of the ATP Tour to the city for the first time in more than 30 years.
–
