Antwerp, September 21, 2021 – Andy Murray will join the European Open 2021! The Briton, who already won the tournament in 2019 after a spectacular final against Stan Wawrinka in three sets, is eager to repeat that feat in the Lotto Arena with a Wildcard. Earlier, the organization has already secured other world-class players for this year’s edition with Grigor Dimitrov and Jannik Sinner. The European Open welcomes 7 top-20 players this year!
After former number three Grigor Dimitrov (ATP 29) and Italian Jannik Sinner (ATP 14 and winner in Melbourne (ATP 250) this year), the organisation of the European Open in Antwerp (17-24 October) adds another big name to the entry list: Sir Andy Murray.
Murray’s record is one to dazzle. In 2016 he reached the final of Roland Garros for the first time and has reached all the grand slam finals. He also won Wimbledon for the second time that year. Murray is also a two-time Olympic gold medallist and former world number one.
Never before has the European Open had such a strong tournament table. 7 top-20 players participate in this tournament!
Tournament Director Dick Norman: “This edition will be really great. We are happy that we have been able to get a lot of big names for this tournament. Andy Murray is and remains an absolute top player and an audience favourite. He set the Lotto Arena ablaze several times in 2019. He is the former world number one, who sold his life dearly in a five-setter against Stefanos Tsitsipas at the US Open in late August. So he is in good form and is keen to match his 2019 win in Antwerp once again.”
“He will have a lot of competition to win, because the field is even stronger than all previous editions. We have 7 top-20 players and that is really exceptional! In addition to Jannick Sinner, we were also able to bring Felix Auger-Aliassime back to Antwerp. Felix is in top form with a semi-final at the US Open and is currently ranked 11th in the world. Diego Schwartzman (ATP 15), Pablo Carreño Busta (ATP 16), Cristian Garin (ATP 17), Roberto Bautista Agut (ATP 18) and Reilly Opelka (ATP 19) are also coming to try and win the title. And let’s not forget Grigor Dimitrov. We are growing year after year and we feel that more and more players of the absolute world top level want to be there in Antwerp. Once again we have succeeded in bringing a mix of up-and-coming home-grown talent and world-class players to the Lotto Arena.”
Zizou Bergs receives wildcard main table
Zizou Bergs is the highest-ranked Belgian on the ATP ranking after Goffin and thus gets the wildcard for the main draw. It is to be seen if he can show himself again in front of his own audience.
The Belgian Wildcard for the pre-qualifications goes to Gauthier Onclin who won the pre-qualification tournament during het Feest van de Jeugd.
Also our Belgian top doubles duo Sander Gillé and Joran Vliegen are back and that is something for the Belgian public to look forward to: top tennis is guaranteed in the Lotto Arena!
Kristoff Puelinckx, CEO Tennium: “When we see this field of participants, all the efforts of the last few months pay off and we are very happy that all these top players are coming to Flanders. Our loyal sponsors have once again expressed their confidence in us and have made this possible. We have worked very hard for months with a very motivated team to organize a safe tournament, just like last year. We guarantee that the fans will be able to enjoy top tennis in a safe environment.”
“This year, we are once again introducing a number of new features to make our tournament a top experience that is much more than just tennis. The fan area will be expanded with many activations and the food trucks and DJ will be back on the scene. There is a collaboration with EazeGames who developed a new tennis game for smartphones.”
“Also new is that we are organizing a wheelchair tennis showdown Belgium-Netherlands on Saturday 23th of October. Hopefully, Joachim Gérard and Jef Vandorpe will compete against the top Dutch duo Tom Egberink and Maikel Scheffers, who took bronze at the Paralympics in Tokyo.”
“With the achievements of Joachim (grand slam winner Australian Open and Wimbledon), the European Open is an ideal platform to put wheelchair tennis a bit more in the spotlight.”