Richard Krajicek is a big fan of the Big 3.
But the Rotterdam tournament director will no longer play the waiting game when it comes to recruiting world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.
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"As [for] Federer, Nadal and Djokovic we have to wait a long time before we have a commitment," Krajicek told the media in comments published by nu.nl. "I inform each year what their plans are and we take our chance when they make themselves available. But we will no longer pause everything until they finally do yes [or] say no."
Two years ago, the top-seeded Federer flew past Grigor Dimitrov, 6-2, 6-2, rocketing to his third career Rotterdam title.
The victory completed a historic Rotterdam return for the Swiss, who made history that week regaining the top spot to become oldest ATP No. 1 and earn his 97th career championship—second place all time behind Hall of Famer Jimmy Connors, who won 109 career titles.
It's been a decade since Djokovic's last Rotterdam appearance, while Nadal is 11 years removed from his last appearance.
Former Wimbledon champion Krajicek has opted for depth in building the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament field.
The tournament boasts eight of the world's Top 16-ranked players, including US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev, ATP Finals champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, three-time Montpellier champion Gael Monfils, David Goffin and Wimbledon semifinalist Roberto Bautista Agut.
"The starting point is a broad field of participants and that will be the case next year," Krajicek said. "I remember that in 2010 I had to wait until mid-October for Djokovic's commitment. Fortunately, he did indeed participate then because there was no one else available anymore."
Photo credit: ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament Facebook