By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday August 5, 2023
Tallon Griekspoor rallied from a set down to earn his first Top-10 win at the Mubadala Citi DC Open.
Photo Source: Mubadala Citi DC Open
Taylor Fritz entered Saturday’s semifinal at the Mubadala Citi DC Open as the favorite to win the event. But 27-year-old Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor had other ideas.
Though he had lost his first nine matches against Top-10 players the No.12 seed played confident, assertive tennis as he rallied past Fritz 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Top-seeded Fritz drops to 2-6 in semifinals in 2023.
“He was just better,” the top-ranked American said. “He played really well.”
Fritz broke Griekspoor in his opening service game and held on to take the first set, saving all five break points he faced. But Griekspoor turned the tide in the second set and constantly pressured Fritz from that point.
Fritz, always an astute observer of his own tennis, said there wasn’t much he could have done to slow down the Dutchman.
Griekspoor hit with exceptional power and precision, and was the better mover of the two. It was an eye-opening performance in what has become an eye-opening year for Griekspoor. He had never won an ATP title prior to 2023 – he’ll bid for title No.3 on Sunday.
He didn’t face a single break point across the second and third sets, and managed to break Fritz three times as he pulled away.
“When he broke me in the second and when he broke me in the third, he played incredible games,” Fritz said. “I don't think I did anything wrong in those games. If I'm being extremely nitpicky about it, I guess I could have hit better spots on some of the serves and stuff like that, but when we got into the rallies in those points, I thought I played them all really well.
“It's extra frustrating, because it's, like, I don't really have an answer for what I would have done differently in a lot of those rallies that I ended up losing. I thought I played them all really well.”
Evans Rides Hot Hand Past Dimitrov
Griekspoor will take on Dan Evans on Sunday as both players contest their maiden ATP 500 level final. Evans shuttled past Grigor Dimitrov to reach his fourth career final on Saturday, 6-3, 7-6(4).
It was another solid effort from the Brit, who entered the week riding a four-match losing streak.
His fortunes have changed considerably this week. The No.9 seed topped second-seeded Frances Tiafoe with a flawless performance on Friday and didn’t drop his level against the Bulgarian on Saturday evening as he saved all four break points he faced
"It was so hard after yesterday putting in such a big effort," he said. "Coming back today it was really important to not roll over and have a bad performance."