TENERIFE, November 7, 2021
Tallon Griekspoor has become the first player to win seven ATP Challenger Tour titles in one season. The 25-year-old Dutch defeated Spanish veteran and No. 2 seed Feliciano Lopez 6-4, 6-4 in Sunday’s singles final of the €44,820 Tenerife Challenger.
In perfect weather conditions with lot of sunshine and temperatures up to 25 degrees Celsius on Center Court of the Abama Tennis Academy in Guia de Isora, Griekspoor broke Lopez’ serve three times and won 53 per cent of the total points played to secure victory in one hour and 18 minutes.
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“It was a tough match, I was struggling a bit in the beginning with my serve but after the break I started to serve pretty well, had a good grip on the return and I am happy with win. Seventh title of the year and 20 match winning streak. I am looking forward to the next one,” Griekspoor told Tennis TourTalk.
The Haarlem native has broken a tie with Younes El Aynaoui (1998), Juan Ignacio Chela (2001), Facundo Bagnis (2016) und Benjamin Bonzi (2021), who all won six titles in one year.
“The record was not really on my mind,” Griekspoor said. “I knew it was there. I knew what to play for. It’s nice to get the record but all I am trying to do is to improve my game and the rankings. I hope it stays for a while.”
Griekspoor is projected to crack the Top 80 for the first time in his career on Monday. “My goal for this year was to end the year in the Top 100. I did well on that. I have to see. Top 50 is probably the next goal and let’s see how far I can get. I really don’t want to put a number on it. Let’s see what’s possible and I am confident in myself.”
And the journey for the Dutch is not over yet. Griekspoor will play another Challenger event in Bratislava, Slovakia next week. However, he is already looking forward to competing in the ATP Tour next year.
“I have had a good time on the Challenger Tour but I think it’s time for the next step, playing ATP Tour events. I am really looking forward to that and can’t wait to start.”
Griekspoor pocketed on the Canary Islands €6,190 in prize money and earned 80 ATP Ranking points.
Tallon Griekspoor 🇳🇱 is projected to crack the Top 80 for the first time.
“I had a good time on the Challenger Tour, but it’s time for the next step!”
🗣 Post-match Interview 🗣#ATPChallengerTour #Tenerife 🌴@meftennisevents@ATPChallenger @Griekii pic.twitter.com/RkRdyHRPFz
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) November 7, 2021
