5 tennis icons who won the Rotterdam Open: Can Alcaraz match Federer & Borg?
Carlos Alcaraz is the headline attraction at the Rotterdam Open, with the Spaniard looking to win an indoor title for the very first time.
Should he triumph in Rotterdam, he would join an iconic list of tennis legends to triumph at the indoor hard court event.
Here, we look at some of the greatest players to take home the Rotterdam Open title.
Arthur Ashe – 1972, 1975-76
Tennis icon Ashe was the first Rotterdam champion back in 1972 – and is one of just two men to win the tournament three times.
The American rallied from a set down to beat home favourite Tom Okker in the 1972 final and then beat the Dutchman for a second time – again from a set down – to triumph in 1975.
Ashe would go on to successfully defend his Rotterdam title in 1976, defeating compatriot Robert Lutz in straight sets to triumph for the third and final time.
Jimmy Connors – 1978, 1981
No man in the Open Era has won more indoor titles than Connors, and the former world No 1 is a two-time former champion at this event.
Connors overcame Raul Ramirez in straight sets for his first title in 1978 and returned three years later to capture his second title, seeing off Gene Mayer in three sets.
The American was also a finalist in 1982, losing to Guillermo Vilas, while he was trailing by a set to Ivan Lendl when the 1984 final was abandoned due to a bomb scare.
Bjorn Borg – 1979
Borg was at the peak of his powers in 1979 and that year saw the Swedish icon lift his sole Rotterdam Open title.
With defending champion Connors absent, top seed Borg was a heavy favourite to lift the title – though came up against rising star John McEnroe in the final.
However, the American was no match for Borg on this occasion, the Swede easing his way to a straight-sets victory in his final appearance at the event.
Stefan Edberg – 1987-88
Borg was the first of five Swedish champions in Rotterdam with fellow former world No 1 Edberg among those two following in his footsteps.
The six-time Grand Slam singles champion triumphed for the first time in 1987, fighting back from a set down to beat McEnroe in the final.
Edberg would then make it back-to-back titles in 1988 with a straight-sets win over former Grand Slam finalist Miloslav Mecir.
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Roger Federer – 2005, 2012, 2018
Joining Ashe, 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer is just the second man to have won the ATP 500 event on three separate occasions.
After losing the 2001 final to Nicolas Escuede, the Swiss captured the title for the first time in 2005 with victory over Ivan Ljubicic – his future coach.
Federer then regained his title seven years later by beating Juan Martin del Potro in the 2012 final, before defeating Grigor Dimitrov for his third and final title in 2018.
Honourable mentions
Ashe, Connors, Borg, Edberg, and Federer are far from the only tennis greats to have triumphed in Rotterdam.
In total, 17 different Grand Slam champions have lifted the title, with Jannik Sinner (2024) and Daniil Medvedev (2023) the most recent major winners to triumph.
Other notable former champions include Boris Becker (1992), home favourite Richard Krajicek (1995, 1997), Lleyton Hewitt (2004), and Andy Murray (2009).
