TENNIS ATP ROTTERDAM – The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, a ATP 500 event, features a very strong line-up with three semifinalists of this year’s Australian Open Stan Wawrinka, Andy Murray and Tomas Berdych, Melbourne quarter finalist Milos Raonic and 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov. Diego Sampaolo
Raonic fought back from a set down to edge Andrey Kuznetsov 6-7 6-1 7-5 to set up a second round match against Simone Bolelli who cruised past Lukas Rosol 6-3 6-1.
Kutznetsov broke serve in the sixth game but Raonic broke back at 4-4. The Russian qualifier won the tie-break of the first set with 7-5 but Raonic bounced back in the second set winning every point behind his first serve and dropping just one game to force the match to the decider. Raonic served to stay in the set when he was 4-5 down. The decider went on serve until 5-all when Raonic got the crucial break on the 11th game. Raonic hit his 19th ace of the match to win the match after one hour and 54 minutes.
Andy Murray, who lost in the quarter final against Milos Raonic last year in the Dutch port city, will make his Rotterdam debut tomorrow against Nicholas Mahut from France on Wednesday. Murray’s possible rival in the second round could be Vasek Pospisil who converted on three of his four break points to beat German Phillip Kohlschreiber 6-4 6-2.
Tomas Berdych, defending champion in Rotterdam, beat German lucky loser Tobias Kamke 6-1 7-5. The Czech player, semifinalist at the Australian Open, extended his winning streak to six matches in Rotterdam. Berdych cruised to a easy win in the first set before wasting a big lead in the second set with a series of errors. Berdych hit 11 aces but dropped his serve twice
Jeremy Chardy advanced to the second round after his compatriot Julien Benneteau was forced to withdraw at 3-3 in the first set. Another Frenchman Giles Simon fought back from one set down to edge Joao Sousa 5-7 6-3 6-2. Simon wasted four set points in the first set, three at 5-2 and one at 5-4 before Sousa clinched the first set with 7-5. In the second set both players traded breaks until 3-all before Simon won seven consecutive games. Simon closed out with 6-2 after two hours and 19 minutes.
Gael Monfils won the all-French evening match against Edouard Roger Vasselin in straight sets with 6-3 6-2 with a break of serve in each set. Monfils will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the second round.
On Monday Grigor Dimitrov came back from a set down and had to save two match points when Paul Henri Mathieu was serving at 5-4 in the second set. Dimitrov forced the match to the tie-break which he won with 7-2 before clinching the third set with 4-6 7-6 (7-2) 6-2. Mathieu beat Dimitrov in Basel in 2012 and once again caused problems to the Bulgarian player.
Dimitrov, reached his best result in Rotterdam in 2013 when he lost in the semifinal against eventual winner Juan Martin Del Potro, will face Gilles Muller who edged David Goffin 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (6-8) 6-3. The match went on serve until the third set when Muller got the only break of the match to seal the win.
Austrian rising star Dominic Thiem beat his close friend and training partner Ernests Gulbis 6-4 6-2. Thiem had already beaten Gulbis in their only previous head-to-head match in the second round of last year’s US Open. Both players are coached by Gunther Bresnik. Gulbis reached the semifinals at the Roland Garros last year but since then he won just nine of his 22 next matches and he has not won a single match in 2015. He lost in the first round against Thanasi Kokkinakis at the Australian Open
Thiem will face Sergiy Stakhovsky who overcame Marcel Granollers 6-2 7-6 (9-7).
Roberto Bautista Agut cruised past 19-year-old German rising star Aleksander Zverev 6-4 6-1.
