Carlos Alcaraz Faces Challenging Draw in Rotterdam

Despite being the top-seed, Carlos Alcaraz faces a challenging path in the Rotterdam ATP 500.

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts during his match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during the 2025 Australian Open. / IMAGO / AAP

Carlos Alcaraz is one of the best men's tennis players in the world. However, the four-time Grand Slam champion has not won a tournament since the China Open in October 2024.

In fact, Alcaraz has not advanced beyond the quarterfinal of an ATP Tournament since Beijing. With Jannik Sinner pulling out of the Rotterdam ATP 500 (called the ABN AMRO Open for sponsorship purposes), Alcaraz has been elevated to the one-seed of the tournament.

Unfortunately for the Spanish tennis star, it is a crowded field, and he will face a tricky path to the finals. Alacaraz's first round match will be against Botic van de Zandschulp.

🇪🇸 Carlos Alcaraz’s Rotterdam draw:

R1 - Van de Zandschulp
R2 - Auger-Alisssime/Q
QF - Rune/Sonego/Bautista Agut
SF - Rublev/Hurkacz/Lehecka/Popyrin
F - Medvedev/De Minaur/Tsitsipas/Fils

📸 AFP pic.twitter.com/X9dX2lO3yP

— Olly Tennis 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) February 1, 2025

The Dutch wild card upset Alcaraz in straight sets in the second round at last year's US Open. However, Alcaraz still owns a 2-1 head-to-head record against van de Zandschulp.

In the second round, Alcaraz will likely face Felix Auger-Alisssime (or a qualifier). Alcaraz has a narrow 4-3 lead over Auger-Alisssime, and the Canadian star is playing at a higher level this year.

In the third round, Alcaraz will likely face either Holger Rune, Lorenzo Sonego, or Roberto Bautista Agut. All three players are not on Alcaraz's level, but they could be for one day.

The ATP Rotterdam draw is 🔥 🔥 🔥!

In the first round,Carlos Alcaraz faces Botic van de Zandschulp who beat him in the US Open second round last year.

Some other interesting matches:
Sonego v Rune
Wawrinka v Medvedev
Rublev v Zhang
Cobolli v Hurkacz#Abnamroopen pic.twitter.com/Oq9PJGLvFL

— Biola Solace-Chukwu (@Beeorlicious) February 1, 2025

In the semifinal round, it is projected that Alcaraz will face either Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, Jiri Lehecka, or Alexei Popyrin. All four of those players could spell trouble for Alcaraz.

In the finals, Alcaraz could face Daniil Medvedev, Alex de Minaur, Stefanos, Stefanos Tsitsipas, or Arthur Fils. Weirdly, the final match could be the easiest for Alcaraz. So far this season, Alcaraz is 4-1 and ranked World No. 3.

The ABN AMRO Open runs from February 3-9, 2025. It will be played on the indoor hard courts in Rotterdam, Netherlands. Tennis fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Serve on SI for all the most important news from the sport.

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