Tennis
The tournament winner of the ATP grass tournament in Hertogenbosch is sensationally named Tim van Rijthoven. The 25-year-old Dutchman only entered the competition as number 205 in the ATP ranking thanks to a wildcard and crowned his successful run on Sunday with a 6: 4 6: 1 victory over second in the world rankings Daniil Medvedev. He jumped no less than 99 places to 106th position.
On the way to the first ATP title, Van Rijthoven eliminated the number three seeded American Taylor Fritz and number two in the tournament, Felix Auger-Aliassime (CAN). He eliminated the numbers one to three in the grass event and the numbers two, nine and 14 in the ATP ranking.
Strictly speaking, the Dutchman knocked out the upcoming number one in the world, because regardless of the defeat, Medvedev will take over the helm from Novak Djokovic again on Monday. “Even the wildcard was a surprise for me. I was just happy that I would play a match or two here,” said van Rijthoven after the razor-thin semi-final win over Auger-Aliassime. Now he even collected the winner’s check in the amount of 98,580 euros as well as the 250 points for the ranking.
Berrettini wins in Stuttgart
Italian Matteo Berrettini won the lawn tournament in Stuttgart. Last year’s Wimbledon finalist defeated Briton Andy Murray 6: 4 5: 7 6: 3 in the final of the grass event on Sunday and thus celebrated his second title in Stuttgart after 2019.
Berrettini converted his second match point after 2:40 hours. However, Murray was clearly struck in the third set. The two-time Wimbledon champion complained of groin and abdominal pain and was about to give up.
Victories for Alexandrova and Maia
In the women’s grass tournaments in Hertogenbosch and Nottingham, the number seven seeded players prevailed. In the Netherlands, Russia’s Ekaterina Alexandrova beat top seed Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus 7-5 6-0.
In Great Britain, the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia defeated the American Alison Riske in a more competitive manner 6:4 1:6 6:3. From June 27th (until November 10th), the grass season will culminate in the third Grand Slam tournament in Wimbledon.
