Gijs Brouwer (27) will make his debut at Wimbledon next week. He also won his third match in the qualifying tournament this afternoon, against the Finn Otto Virtanen, in straight sets: 6-4, 6-2, 6-4.
It will be his second grand slam for Brouwer, the number 153 in the world. Last year he qualified for the US Open, where he reached the second round. Lorenzo Musetti was too strong in four sets. This year he stood out in Rotterdam, where he lost the Dutch get-together in the quarterfinals against Tallon Fransespoor. Brouwer also reached the semi-finals of the ATP tournament in Houston, his hometown, this year.
Brouwer never ran into problems against Virtanen, who is 23 places higher in the ATP ranking. He won in three sets in an hour and a half. The final match in the qualifying tournament will be played in a best-of-five at Wimbledon.
After the weekend, the left-handed Brouwer will in any case secure almost 64,000 euros, the prize money belonging to the first round at Wimbledon. Greek track and Botic van de Zandschulp are the other men in the main tournament in London. Friday morning will be drawn for that. The Netherlands is not represented in the women’s singles this time.
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