Antwerp, September 8 2022 – The European Open has managed to secure two grand slam winners for the seventh edition of the ATP tournament in Antwerp: Stan Wawrinka and Dominic Thiem! “After previously announcing a top-eight player in the world with Felix Auger-Aliassime, we are delighted to be able to add two grand slam winners to that list”, said tournament director Dick Norman. “Together, they won no less than four grand slam titles!”
Stan Wawrinka (ATP-295), the finalist in Antwerp in 2019 against Murray, will be back at the Lotto Arena once again. After two operations on the foot and a one-year rehabilitation, Wawrinka made his comeback in Marbella at the end of March this year. The former world number three captured titles at the Australian Open (2014), Roland Garros (2015) and the US Open (2016). “One of the most memorable matches in European Open history was Wawrinka’s super tense 2019 final against Andy Murray”, Dick Norman underlines. “After an injury, Stan Wawrinka is making his way back. Wawrinka is one of the few tennis players of his generation who could compete against ‘The Big Three’: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.”
The next grand slam winner to welcome at the European Open is Dominic Thiem (ATP-211). “After two finals at Roland Garros (2018 and 2019), the final at the Australian Open (2020) and becoming the champion at the US Open in September 2020, Dominic Thiem has joined the ranks of top absolute tennis players”, Dick Norman explains. The Austrian reached the 1/8th finals at the Australian Open a few months later, but then a wrist injury in Mallorca kept him away from the court for nine months. “Fans are used to Thiem dominating opponents with his physical baseline game, which features relentless attacking. Thiem is coming back to his best shape in 2022. He recently made it to the semi-finals in Gstaad (Switzerland) and regularly shows off his flashes of brilliance. Don’t forget that the former world number three is still only 28 years old and has already won 17 ATP singles titles”, stressed Norman.
“So these are two new top names for the tournament, but our homework is not over yet. We are looking forward to announce the first Belgian names for the tournament soon. As far as the Belgians are concerned, we want to continue our good tradition of presenting a strong field of players as well.”