CILIC, THIEM JOINED BY RECENT CHAMPIONS, DIMITROV, ZVEREV IN ROTTERDAM ABN AMRO TENNIS

Written by: Staff on 12th February 2017

2017 Garanti Koza Sofia Open tennis tournament

CILIC, THIEM JOINED BY RECENT CHAMPIONS, DIMITROV, ZVEREV IN ROTTERDAM ABN AMRO TENNIS

epa05788265 Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) in action against David Goffin (Belgium) during their final match for the 2017 ATP 250 Garanti Koza Sofia Open tennis tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, 12 February 2017. EPA/BORISLAV TROSHEV |

Cilic, Thiem joined by recent champions Dimitrov, Zverev in Rotterdam

By Ricky Dimon

Grigor Dimitrov captured the Sofia Open title on Sunday, while Alexander Zverev triumphed at the Open Sud de France. Both players will be getting right back in action this upcoming week for the 500-point event in Rotterdam, the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.

Zverev defeated Richard Gasquet 7-6(4), 6-3 for the second title of his career.

“I’m very happy to win my first title of the year,” said the 19-year-old German, who also lifted the doubles winners’ trophy with older brother Mischa. “Obviously it was a very tough tournament, only one straight-sets match in the whole tournament, today, and it was not an easy one. I think it was a high-level match and I’m happy to get the win.

Alors… Vous le trouvez comment, ce trophée #OSDF17 – Photo by @OpenSuddeFrance via Twitter.

“It’s great to win singles and doubles. I’m very happy the way we played. We only dropped one set in the tournament. I think it was a very successful tournament for the Zverevs.”

Both Zverev brothers are heading to Rotterdam, where Mischa has to open against Dimitov. The Bulgarian improved to 14-1 this season and earned his second title of 2017 by beating David Goffin 7-5, 6-4 in Sofia.

“This is my most prestigious title for sure,” Dimitrov commented. “Winning it at home is a tremendous success for me. I will treasure this title for the rest of my life. It’s something amazing.”

Grigor Dimitrov (Bulgaria) kiss the trophy after defeating David Goffin (Belgium) in the final match for the 2017 ATP 250 Garanti Koza Sofia Open tennis tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria, 12 February 2017. EPA/BORISLAV TROSHEV

Dimitrov, Goffin, Zverev, and Gasquet are all in the Rotterdam field. They will be joined there by Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, Tomas Berdych, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, among many others–although Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal are no longer a part of the list.

Cilic can barely buy a win this year, but he finds himself as the No. 1 seed following the withdrawals of Wawrinka and Nadal. The Croat is 1-3 in 2017 with losses to Jozef Kovalik (Chennai), Dan Evans (Australian Open), and Dustin Brown (Montpellier). Cilic doesn’t have an easy opener this week, either, as talent first-round foe Benoit Paire is coming off a semifinal performance in Montpellier. Tsonga, also a semifinalist in Montpellier, is the other seed in the top quarter of the bracket.

Zverev will try to maintain his hot streak at Thiem’s expense in the first round. It’s a tale of two men going in opposite directions at the moment, with Thiem just 5-4 this season and having fallen to four opponents ranked below him. If Zverev prevails, the draw will open up considerably because Roberto Bautista Agut (elbow injury) has already vacated that section of the bracket. Potential semifinal opponents for Zverev and Thiem are Goffin, Dimitrov, and the older Zverev.