ASTANA, October 1, 2023
World No. 24 Tallon Griekspoor can certainly look back on a quite successful season. The 27-year-old Dutch clinched his first two ATP Tour titles in Pune, India, and on home soil in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Initially, transitioning from the Challenger Circuit to the grand stage of men’s tennis, however, didn’t seem so easy for him.
In 2021, Griekspoor set a new record by winning eight Challenger titles in a single season but struggled on the ATP level in the following year.
“Last year I was struggling a bit on the tour. I did well during the first five or six months and then didn’t win a lot of matches anymore. But at the same time, I lost a lot of close matches, where I felt the level was there. I was just not winning. At some point the confidence was completely done.
“Now, when I look back at this year, after winning two titles the confidence is there. Now I really believe that I can beat almost everyone. I feel like that my ranking is good and that I have the level to be there,” said Griekspoor in the capital city of Kazakhstan on Saturday.
No.1 seed up and running 🏃
Griekspoor turns in a 7-6 6-7 6-1 win to reach the QFs!#AstanaOpen pic.twitter.com/ZRpBZHj0oP
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) September 30, 2023
“This was different during my first year on the tour. Everything was new for me. The whole schedule was new. I was travelling a lot. At Challenger level I was only travelling within Europe, now all of the sudden you had to go to Indian Wells, Miami or China. I was also struggling with all the different time zones. I am now used to it, getting stronger mentally and physically and so my tennis is getting better, too. Overall, I became a better player. Looking back, I am very happy how it went at Challenger level and even Futures at the beginning. I learnt a lot.”
Now, he is even the top seed of an ATP Tour 250 tournament, for the first time in his career and the first from the Netherlands since Sjeng Schalken at 2003 Moscow.
“It’s something special,” said Griekspoor. “At the same time, it’s a good sign. I hope this will happen more often in the future, and I can capitalized on it this week.”
