Ricky’s picks for this week’s ATP 500 in Rotterdam

It’s a big week on the ATP Tour, with a pair of 500 tournaments in Rotterdam and Dallas. As good as the Dallas field is (with Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, Casper Ruud, Ben Shelton, and more) it can’t compare with Rotterdam. Even though Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner withdrew, the ABN AMRO Open still boasts Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, and Stefanos Tsitsipas–among plenty of other stars.

Here is a breakdown of the Rotterdam draw and my picks.

ABN AMRO Open

Where: Rotterdam, the Netherlands   
Prize money: 2,563,150 Euros   
Top seed: Carlos Alcaraz 
2024 champion: Jannik Sinner (not playing)  

Alcaraz is the No. 1 seed at the ABN AMRO, but the draw did not do him any favors. He had to face Botic van de Zandschulp, who famously upset him at last summer’s U.S. Open. Alcaraz survived in three sets on Tuesday, but his second match will likely coming against Montpellier champion Felix Auger-Aliassime—who again established himself as one of best indoor players in the world by capturing yet another such title this past week. Also in the top half of the bracket are Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, and Holger Rune.

Of course, there are no easy draws for anyone in Rotterdam. The field is so deep that guys like Auger-Aliassime, Van de Zandschulp, Matteo Berrettini, Jakub Mensik, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, and Tallon Griekspoor are unseeded. Medvedev opened with a three-set victory over Stan Wawrinka and could potentially meetTsitsipas in the quarterfinals.

Quarterfinal picks: Felix Auger-Aliassime over Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev over Jiri Lehecka, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard over Alex de Minaur, and Tallon Griekspoor over Daniil Medvedev 

Semifinals: Auger-Aliassime over Rublev and Mpetshi Perricard over Griekspoor 

Final: Auger-Aliassime over Mpetshi Perricard 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.