'This is my favorite tournament of the year'

For Roger Federer, nothing beats Wimbledon. For Rafael Nadal, it was always Roland Garros. For Novak Djokovic, the Australian Open is sacred. Tallon Griekspoor, on the other hand, will forever choose the ABN AMRO Open as the place to play his best tennis.

"This is my favorite tournament of the year,” the number-one Dutch tennis player said once again after booking another memorable victory on Rotterdam Ahoy’s centre court: 6-3, 6-7 (2), and 7-6 (4) in the first round against the experienced Italian Matteo Berrettini.

An Amsterdammer and Ajax supporter, Griekspoor still feels completely at home in Rotterdam — and you can trust him to let everyone know. However exceptional it may be, the 28-year-old Griekspoor has every reason to feel that way. For the past two years, he has reached the semi-finals of the renowned tournament. On both occasions, he lost nail-biting contests to Jannik Sinner, the current world number one and 2024 champion. Even in the years prior to his successful runs, he already had an instant connection with the hard court and the crowd.

"The atmosphere here in the stands, on this court, brings out the best in me,” Griekspoor said on Wednesday afternoon with a broad smile. "That happened again today. I had a difficult start to the season, as I was sick at the end of December, and then I injured my back in January, but now I can enjoy tennis again. Even at a tournament like this, with such an incredibly strong field of players, where you can simply lose any match. Whatever happens, every performance on this court is a gift to myself. That's why I am so happy that I can play here again tomorrow.”

In the second round on Thursday afternoon, he will meet Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas, another player who has declared that he feels at home in Rotterdam. Griekspoor, or 'Grieki' per his nickname, once lost in Melbourne at the Australian Open to the former world number six, but that was there and then. "Two, three years ago, I wouldn't have won this match against Berrettini. My game is now generally at a better level," said the last remaining Dutchman in the tournament. "It is quite clear what you have to do against Tsitsipas: you have to lock him into his backhand corner. But I will have to be very fierce again.”

"Hopefully, this victory over Berrettini will serve as a kickstart for the next matches. And again, I am someone who really enjoys every match I can play in the Netherlands in general— and Rotterdam in particular. When I woke up this morning, I was immediately happy: I get to play at my favorite tournament again, with my family and friends in the stands!" 

The elimination of the tournament’s second-seed Daniil Medvedev was the biggest surprise of the evening of the third day of the ABN AMRO Open. The 2023 tournament winner appeared to underestimate Mattia Bellucci's winning streak. The Italian qualifier secured his best career win after battling for almost three hours: 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3.