Gijs Brouwer: 'What a great surprise !'

Gijs Brouwer, who currently holds the 160th in the ATP ranking, will make his debut at the anniversary edition of the ABN AMRO Open. The 26-year-old resident of North Hollandse Venhuizen received a wildcard for the main draw and plays his first match today against Switzerland’s 47th-ranked Marc-Andrea Huesler.

Welcome to Rotterdam!
'Last year I just missed qualifying and I trained here, but now it's finally happening for me as a player. I used to watch the matches in Ahoy as a spectator. The first match I saw was a match with the Finn Jarkko Nieminen, but I can't remember his opponent. ’

About this year as a player in the main draw
'I slept in Rotterdam for the first time on Thursday evening. On Friday I trained twice in Ahoy and then received a message from tournament director Richard Krajicek in the players' restaurant. I had fully prepared for the qualifiers, but I got a wildcard entry for the main draw. That's a great surprise. I had not really considered this as a possibility so this makes it even more fun !’

How were the past few days in Rotterdam Ahoy?
Very pleasant. Everything is well organised at this tournament. I played two doubles matches on Saturday and Sunday, it is great to have two matches in the bag.

You play against the Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler. What are your expectations?
It could have been much worse on paper, but it was his breakthrough year in 2022. I know him well from the tour and trained with him for an hour at the US Open last year. Huesler is just another good player, otherwise you wouldn't be in the main draw here. He plays offensively and serves well, so I won't get much time to settle in and find my rhythm.

What is the best tennis moment in your life?
I think it's still last year's US Open for the time being. I won my three matches in the qualifying rounds, and then also a match in the main draw against Adrian Mannarino. Of course, I hope to have a different answer at the end of this week, but for now I am not looking past the first game.