It will not come as a big surprise, but Jannik Sinner has opted to take an extended break following his Australian Open heroics.
The Italian successfully defended his hard-court Grand Slam, dropping only two sets en route to the final, before beating Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 in a lopsided showpiece match.
Sinner was next due to take part in the Rotterdam Open – where is also the defending champion, having beaten Alex de Minaur in last year’s final – but he has decided to skip the ATP 500 event, which runs from 3-9 February.
After consulting with my team we had to take the difficult decision to withdraw from the ABN AMRO Open,” the world No 1 said.
“My body needs time to rest after the long run in Australia.”
Tournament director Richard Krajicek added: “The Australian Open has been long and tough for Jannik. It is a great shame for both him and us that his efforts are preventing him from participating in Rotterdam.”
Sinner’s withdrawal will result in Carlos Alcaraz being elevated to top seed and he will be followed by Daniil Medvedev, De Minaur, Andrey Rublev, Holger Rune and Jack Draper.
World No 3 Alcaraz will make his debut at the tournament as in previous years he competed on the South American swing and Sinner’s withdrawal gives him as well as Zverev a chance to chip away at the Italian’s points.
Sinner currently tops the rankings by 11,830 points with Zverev second on 8,135 points and Alcaraz on 7,010, but the Italian will now drop 500 points after withdrawing from Rotterdam – his only tournament in February – thus giving his challengers a chance to move a little closer.
Zverev and Alcaraz are both defending 100 points over the next few weeks so will have a chance to gain on Sinner if they have deep runs in their next events.
Sinner’s next event is now set to be Qatar Open before he heads to the United States for the Indian Wells Open, which starts on March 5.
Last year he reached the semi-final of the ATP Masters 1000 event, but he was later stripped of his points and prize money after he tested positive for clostebol in separate tests.
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