Tennis News• Richard Krajicek Gets Roger Federer in Rotterdam, Aiming @ No. 1 ATP Ranking In The World

Photo by ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament via Facebook

 

 

Federer decides to play in Rotterdam, takes aim at No. 1 ranking in the world

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Amazingly enough, there is one record in tennis that Roger Federer does not have. Okay, there’s actually several–such as, obviously, French Open titles (that, of course, belongs to Rafael Nadal). But there is one less obvious one that Federer does not hold at the moment but may add to his resume very soon: oldest man to ever be ranked No. 1 in the world.

 

Federer now has a chance to regain the No. 1 raking (from Nadal) later this month, because he has accepted a late wild card into next week’s ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam.

 

The 36-year-old currently trails Nadal by 155 points in the rankings. Rotterdam is a 500-point event, meaning that a semifinalist earns 180 points. As such, Federer needs to win only three matches in order to overtake the Spaniard on Monday, Feb. 19. It would mark the first time Federer has held the top spot since November of 2012.

 

At 33 years and 13 days, Andre Agassi remains the oldest man to be No. 1 in the world.

 

“The tournament is special for me,” Federer said of the ABN AMRO tournament. “I remember playing for the first time in 1999, as it was one of the first events where I got the chance to play at the highest level. It feels good to join in the celebrations of the 45th edition.”

 

“After his fantastic result at the Australian Open, it is tremendous news that he will be joining us in Rotterdam,” tournament director and fellow former Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek commented. “It is a crown to the celebration of the history of our tournament.”

 

Federer is 23-6 lifetime in eight appearances in Rotterdam with two titles. He lifted the trophy in 2005 (defeated his current coach, Ivan Ljubicic, in the the championship match) and again in his next appearance in 2012 following a six-year absence. Federer last played there in 2013, falling to Julien Benneteau in the quarterfinals.

 

This year’s Rotterdam field also features Grigor Dimitrov, Stan Wawrinka, Alexander Zverev, David Goffin, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and Tomas Berdych. Nick Kyrgios was also scheduled to play, but he withdrew on Wednesday due to an injury that plagued during Davis Cup World Group first-round competition last week.

 

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