Tallon Griekspoor overcame his first lost set of the week at the Tata Open Maharashtra to claim his first ATP Tour title Saturday in an entertaining and high-quality final against Benjamin Bonzi. The Dutchman served to stay in the match in the second set but ultimately outlasted his French opponent 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 before collapsing to the court in celebration of his milestone moment.
"[It was the] first final for both, some pressure," Griekspoor said after clinching the trophy with a dominant serving display that included 17 aces. "All I did was keep fighting every point, trying to get my best tennis, and in the end it came, so I'm really happy with that.
"I think even in the first set I played well. I just played one really bad game at 4-5 which made it tough for myself. Bonzi was playing really well."
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After getting broken to surrender the first set, the 26-year-old showed great resilience in the same situation in set two. From 4-5 in the second, he won three straight games to force a decider, then continued his momentum by building a 3-1 lead in the final set.
Bonzi created two break points in a four-deuce game at 3-2, but Griekspoor stood firm to hold and ultimately sealed victory with his third break of the match when his opponent's forehand sailed long.
The two-hour, 16-minute final was played at a high level throughout despite it being the first tour-level title match for both men.
"Of course a little bit more nerves than normal, but it wasn't too bad actually," said Griekspoor, who dropped serve just twice on the week. "I think we both played really well, our service games... Nerves are always there, today a little bit more, but I'm happy with how I handled it."
The Dutchman rocketed 34 places up the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week to No. 61 as he closes in on his career high of World No. 44, achieved in August. He knocked off two seeded opponents in Pune — seventh seed Jaume Munar in the opening round and eighth seed Aslan Karatsev in the semis — and was the beneficiary of a withdrawal from top seed Marin Cilic ahead of their scheduled quarter-final matchup.
The 26-year-old Bonzi jumped 10 spots in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week to enter the Top 50 but missed out on an opportunity to break into the Top 40 for the first time and become the French No. 1.
The final was the pair's first ATP Head2Head meeting, though Bonzi defeated Griekspoor in a third-set tie-break on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2017.
"[It was the] first final for both, some pressure," Griekspoor said after clinching the trophy with a dominant serving display that included 17 aces. "All I did was keep fighting every point, trying to get my best tennis, and in the end it came, so I'm really happy with that.
"I think even in the first set I played well. I just played one really bad game at 4-5 which made it tough for myself. Bonzi was playing really well."
[ATP APP]
After getting broken to surrender the first set, the 26-year-old showed great resilience in the same situation in set two. From 4-5 in the second, he won three straight games to force a decider, then continued his momentum by building a 3-1 lead in the final set.
Bonzi created two break points in a four-deuce game at 3-2, but Griekspoor stood firm to hold and ultimately sealed victory with his third break of the match when his opponent's forehand sailed long.
The two-hour, 16-minute final was played at a high level throughout despite it being the first tour-level title match for both men.
"Of course a little bit more nerves than normal, but it wasn't too bad actually," said Griekspoor, who dropped serve just twice on the week. "I think we both played really well, our service games... Nerves are always there, today a little bit more, but I'm happy with how I handled it."
The Dutchman rocketed 34 places up the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week to No. 61 as he closes in on his career high of World No. 44, achieved in August. He knocked off two seeded opponents in Pune — seventh seed Jaume Munar in the opening round and eighth seed Aslan Karatsev in the semis — and was the beneficiary of a withdrawal from top seed Marin Cilic ahead of their scheduled quarter-final matchup.
The 26-year-old Bonzi jumped 10 spots in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week to enter the Top 50 but missed out on an opportunity to break into the Top 40 for the first time and become the French No. 1.
The final was the pair's first ATP Head2Head meeting, though Bonzi defeated Griekspoor in a third-set tie-break on the ATP Challenger Tour in 2017.