In-form, in-love, focused, spectacular, former world number 6 Gael Monfils defeated Stan Wawrinka in an entertaining final 6-3 1-6 6-2. It was the first Rotterdam final between two unseeded players since 2008, when Michael Llodra defeated Robin Soderling.
Semi-finalist in Sofia last week, Monfils registered some solid wins over David Goffin and Daniil Medvedev in Rotterdam, and confirms his good start of the season with his 8th career title, his second ATP 500 after Washington in 2016.
It was also a good week for Wawrinka, playing in his first final since Roland Garros 2017. The Swiss, who received a wild card, defeated Paire, Raonic, Shapovalov and Nishikori en route to the final.
The defending champion was Roger Federer, but he chose not to participate this year. The number two seed, Karen Khachanov has been ousted in the first round by young Dutch player Tallon Griekspoor.
In doubles, Jérémy Chardy and Henri Kontinen teamed up to lift the trophy, beating Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau 7-6 7-6.
Photo credit: ABN AMRO WTT Instagram
Read more:
– Rotterdam 2019: Stan Wawrinka advances to the final
– Rotterdam 2019: Tsitsipas ousted by Dzumhur
– Rotterdam 2018: the title and the number one ranking for Federer
3-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka is back in top form: he defeated number one seed Kei Nishikori in a thrilling 3-set match to advance to the Rotterdam final. Nishikori was bidding to reach his second final of the season, following his victory in Brisbane last month.
The Swiss had beaten his friend Benoît Paire and then Canadians Milos Raonic and Denis Shapovalov to reach the last 4. It will be his second Rotterdam final – he claimed the title here in 2015 defeating Tomas Berdych – his first final since his loss to Rafael Nadal at Roland Garros 2017.
In the other semifinal Gael Monfils took his revenge over Daniil Medvedev, who had took the better of him in the semifinals of the Sofia Open last week. Like Wawrinka, Monfils will play his second Rotterdam final – he lost to Martin Klizan in 2016, and his 29th overall. The Frenchman has a terrible record, having only won 7 out of 28 finals (16 out of 28 for the Swiss).
Photo credit: Marianne Bevis
A few weeks ago he defeated Roger Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open, and later advanced to the semifinals where he was ousted by Rafael Nadal:
But today Stefanos Tsitsipas lost to world number 56 Damir Dzumhur – who had not won a match this year – in the first round of the Rotterdam tournament. Dzumhur will meet Mikhail Kukushkin for a place in the quarter-finals against Gael Monfils. The Frenchman booked his place in the last eight with a 3-set win over Andreas Seppi.
In the other matches today, recent Sofia Open champion Daniil Medvedev, who turned 23 on Monday, defeated Jérémy Chardy, while Stan Wawrinka secured his place in the quarterfinals with a straight set win over Milos Raonic.
Photo credit: Andrew Robertson, Marianne Bevis
Read more:
– Rotterdam 2018: the title and the number one ranking for Roger Federer
– Rotterdam 2017: lucky 13 for Tsonga
Title number 97 for Roger Federer who dispatched Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-2 in the final. Federer continues his unbeaten start to the 2018 season and regains the number one ranking for the first time in more than five years.
Following his win at the ATP finals last November, Dimitrov reached the semifinals in Brisbane (beaten by Kyrgios), and the quarterfinals at the Australian Open where he fell to Kyle Edmund. He hasn’t dropped a set all week en route to the final but couldn’t do much to prevent Federer from winning his third Rotterdam title.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the defending champion, but withdrew before the tournament began with a left hamstring injury.
In the doubles draw, Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert went on to claim the title with a 2-6 6-2 10-7 win over recent Australian Open champions Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic. This is Mahut’s third title in Rotterdam, after his victories with Llodra in 2014, and Pospisil in 2016.
Photo credit: ABN AMRO
Six years after reaching the Rotterdam final, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga finally lifts the trophy, rallying back from a set down to defeat David Goffin 4-6 6-4 6-1. This is Tsonga’s 13th ATP title, his second ATP 500 after Tokyo in 2009.
With this final, Goffin reaches the top 10 for the first time of his career, becoming the first Belgian male player to do so.
In the semifinals, Tsonga defeated 2014 Rotterdam champion Tomas Berdych to record his 400th ATP victory.
In a repeat of last week’s Sofia Open final, Goffin took revenge on Grigor Dimitrov in a thrilling 3-set match to clinch his first victory over the in-form Bulgarian, and qualify for the semifinals where he beat doubles specialist Pierre-Hugues Herbert.
Number one seed Marin Cilic lost to eventual winner Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals 6-7 5-7.
Number two seed Dominic Thiem was ousted by Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the quarterfinals.
Martin Klizan was the defending champion, but lost in the quarterfinals to Tomas Berdych.
Photo credit: ABN AMRO
