Dutchman Griekspoor clinches maiden ATP Tour title

PUNE: The Dutch tennis star Tallon Griekspoor dropped the first set but pulled off a stunning come-from-behind 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win against the World No. 60 Benjamin Bonzi in a thrilling singles final to clinch the fifth edition of the Tata Open Maharashtra as well as his maiden ATP Tour title at the Balewadi Stadium in Pune on Saturday.

The blockbuster summit clash lived up to the expectations from the word go as Bonzi and the World No. 95 Griekspoor fought hard for each point and exhibited a world-class level of energy and athleticism, moving well across the court. The 26-year-old Bonzi, somehow, managed to take the charge in the first set after 4-4 as he added five successive points to secure it 6-4 and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Griekspoor looked in no mood to give up easily as the second set too witnessed a nail-biting competition when both the players, with a career-high rankings of 44, denied the opponent a big lead. ing at 4-3, Bonzi looked more comfortable amongst the two as he bagged four consecutive points to make it 5-4 but, serving big, Griekspoor pulled off an incredible turnaround not only to level the scores but also to take the match into the decider.

He carried the momentum in the crucial third set, keeping himself ahead in the match at 3-1 and then stretched the lead further to 4-2 before clinching the set as well as the match comfortably in the end.

Earlier, Indian pair of N Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan concluded their dream run with a runners-up finish in the doubles after going down fighting 4-6, 4-6 against the fourth-seeded duo of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in the final. Gille and Vliegen secured their sixth ATP Tour title. Their last title came in Singapore in 2021.

The Tamil Nadu-born duo, playing their maiden ATP Tour final, were impressive throughout the tournament since making an entry as an alternative pair. They gave their all in both the sets but Gille and Vliegen played aggressively throughout the match before wrapping it up in one hour and 10 minutes.

This year’s tournament concluded with an exciting competition in the presence of 17 top-100 players, including the former Grand Slam champion Marin Cilic and last year’s runner-up Emil Ruusuvuori in a highly-competitive singles field. The doubles draw also saw the participation of the former World No. 1 pair of Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury alongside Indian tennis ace Rohan Bopanna among others.

Results: Singles: Tallon Griekspoor bt Benjamin Bonzi 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Doubles: Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen bt N Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan 6-4, 6-4