Federer back in Rotterdam after long gap

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Swiss World No. 3 is a good friend of tournament director and 1996 Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek and has changed his normal February schedule to include the indoor event which begins on Monday at the Ahoy stadium

 

Both Federer and second seed Tomas Berdych will arrive in the Dutch port city after Davis Cup action.

 

Third seed Juan Martin del Potro will be making his tournament debut. He took a short break after losing in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open to Federer. Spain's Feliciano Lopez will be the fourth seed ahead of Frenchman Richard Gasquet and Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine.

 

At least half of the 32-man field will arrive in Rotterdam after Davis Cup ties.

 

Berdych will meet Davis Cup teammate Lukas Rosol in the first round while del Potro will begin his campaign against former champion Michael Llodra.

 

The Frenchman, who lost the Rotterdam final a year ago to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, is currently in Vancouver, representing his country against Canada. 

“Del Potro is a name that has been on my shortlist for a couple of years,” said Krajicek. “After his US Open victory in 2009, we've been in contact every year, this time with a positive result.” 

Del Potro, winner of nine career titles, said: “For the first time in many years, I will be playing in Europe in February. Obviously, I look forward to competing in Rotterdam.”

 

Aiming to do a Vilas 

He will be aiming to become the first Argentine since Guillermo Vilas in 1982 to win the Rotterdam title.

 

Federer, a winner in 2005 when he last played here, will clash with Frenchman Nicolas Mahut, a player he has not played against since 2008.

 

Berdych is a regular at the tournament, having figured in six of the last seven editions, with a quarterfinal appearance in 2011 being his best effort.

 

The event will be missing the champion of the last two years, Swede Robin Soderling, who is still recovering from the glandular fever which has kept him off court since last July. AFP