Jannik Sinner starts again with déjà-vu
Jannik Sinner in Rotterdam
Jannik Sinner è ready for the ABN Amro Open, a prestigious ATP 500 tournament held at the Rotterdam Ahoy and the leading tennis event in the Netherlands. The South Tyrolean, currently ranked No. 4º in the ATP rankings, faces in the first round Botic Van de Zandschulp, No. 63, the same opponent with whom he began his remarkable adventure at the Australian Open.
Sinner, the No. 1 seed, has already competed twice at the Rotterdam tournament, reaching the quarterfinals in 2020 and beating David Goffin, for what was his first success against a Top 10 player. Musetti, ranked 27º faces in the first round Tallon Griekspoor, No. 30, to whom he lost in his only previous head-to-head match, in the 2020 Australian Open qualifiers.
Sonego, ranked 46º in the world rankings, è the only one of the three Italians in the lower draw. The Turin player, who has yet to win a match in the tournament after two first-round eliminations in his previous appearances in the main draw, makes his debut against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, No. 13, with no previous confrontation.
The ABN Amro Open è the first ATP 500 tournament of the year and is always very competitive. The tournament's roll of honor boasts illustrious names, including Roger Federer, the tournament's only three-time winner, and other tennis greats such as Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Juan Martin del Potro and Lleyton Hewitt. In the past, the tournament has seen Slam champions and world No. 1s such as Ivan Lendl, Boris Becker and Jimmy Connors triumph. Finally, among Italians, the Rotterdam tournament è particularly significant for Omar Camporese's unforgettable victory in 1991, the only Italian victory in the tournament's history, achieved in the final against Ivan Lendl. Other memorable moments include the semifinals reached by Diego Nargiso in 1993 and again by Camporese in 1995. Also, there'è to be remembered the epic 2008 confrontation in which Andreas Seppi defeated Rafael Nadal, the then world No. 1.
