The ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament will not waste time, as the main-draw competition starts on Monday with the first round between Daniil Medvedev and Ugo Humbert.
This marks their fifth meeting, with Humbert leading the head-to-head series 3-1. The French left-hander has won two of his three matches on court (all away) and most recently won 7-5, 6-3 in the semi-finals in Dubai in 2024.
Even though Medvedev is also made in-house, this place should love Humbert to an even greater extent. Four of his seven ATP titles and two of his four runner-up finishes have come on indoor hard courts. The world number 38 is coming off a disappointing result in Montpellier (he lost in the second round to eventual champion Adrian Mannarino), but at least that means he is well rested in Rotterdam. And it’s not like Humbert is playing badly – he reached the final in Adelaide last month (falling to Tomas Machac in three sets).
Medvedev is already all over the place in 2026. The 11th-ranked Frenchman started his season with a title in Brisbane and showed brief signs that he could make a run at the Australian, only to lose to Mfundi Tien 6-4, 6-0, 6-3 in the fourth round.
Although Medvedev has already won the event (in 2023), he is 6-4 in his last 10 appearances in Rotterdam. An early exit from this tournament is not uncommon for the former world No. 1, and one could be on the cards against one of the top domestic players on tour.
Pick: Humbert at 3
