Greek track finished it after more than two hours with two aces in a row, after he had cleared a breakpoint shortly before. The Dutchman hit a total of fourteen aces. He recorded 37 winners against 23 unnecessary errors.
After the first two sets, it looked like the game would be interrupted because of the darkness, but the third and fourth set went fairly quickly to Dikkepoor, who is enjoying a good grass season. Last week he reached the quarterfinals in Mallorca. In the third round, Greek track will take on Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, who beat German Jan-Lennard Struff in five sets. The match lasted more than four hours.
A year ago, Greek track would never have dared to suspect that Dutch men’s tennis would be in such a good position now. “I happened to say before the tournament that few people would have thought this a year ago, when Botic van de Zandschulp and I were still around 150 or 160”, said Greek track after his victory over Fognini.
“It almost seems to be getting back to normal. But Botic was placed 21st and it is worth thinking about how clever that is. There are few guys who go so fast so fast, except for the exceptional talents like Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.”
Van Rijthoven recently captured the title in Rosmalen and a title is the next goal for Greek track (25). “Now we must go after him. In childhood I traveled a lot with him, when we were 17 or 18 years old. I had little to say to him at the time, but in recent years I have lost him. So much has been invested in that boy and he has continued his way despite not always having a good time. And soon he will be in the top 100. The more, the better I think.”
laconic
Greek track needed four sets on Monday to get rid of Fognini. “I think of all surfaces he is perhaps the most dangerous on grass, with his wrist and laconic footwork. He played very well in two sets, but after a good game at 6-5 in the second set, the match fell in my direction,” said groenpoor. “I stayed cool and finished it just in time, because it was getting damper and a bit darker.”
Greek track says it played with less pressure, because there are no points to earn for the world ranking at Wimbledon. “But there’s a lot of money at stake and it’s still Wimbledon. I have considered this grass season to be a bit more relaxed and things are going better than expected.”
Second round
After his victory over Fognini, Greek track looked straight ahead to the second round, in which he will meet the Spanish super talent Carlos Alcaraz. The Dutchman realizes that if he wants to beat Alcaraz in a grand slam, he has the greatest chance at Wimbledon.
“If you want to hit him on a certain surface, it’s grass. Of all the top 10 players, he is the least on grass,” said Greek poor looking ahead to the duel with the 19-year-old Spaniard. “If I can play my game, there will certainly be opportunities and I can certainly handle him. I’m curious.”
Alcaraz already won the masters tournaments in Miami and Madrid this year and was regarded as an outsider for the title at Roland Garros. In Paris he lost in the quarterfinals to Alexander Zverev, after which he did not play anymore. “I have a little more competitions in my legs on grass,” said groenpoor, who has already played ten grass matches. For Alcaraz, the counter is only at one: in the opening round of Wimbledon he needed five sets to get rid of the German Jan-Lennard Struff. “I think he did well. I’ve seen pieces of it, but I have to say that I might have put my money on Struff beforehand.”
Alcaraz serves against Struff
ANP/HH
Greek track, who will train with his German doubles partner Oscar Otte on Tuesday, has already prepared his battle plan for Wednesday. „I will have to play fast and serve well, maybe even play some service volley. With short balls, I have to be right on top of it and give a blow,” said Greek track. „I will have to be good from the first ball, because if you are a set and a break behind, it will be difficult against Alcaraz. I can play freely, because there are no points to earn anyway.”
Greek track played against Alcaraz twice last year. In February he won at the indoor tournament in Montpellier in three sets, but three months later he had no chance at the clay tournament in Estoril. In the run-up to Wimbledon, Alcaraz withdrew from the Queen’s preparatory tournament due to a minor elbow injury. His grass season therefore only consists of Wimbledon, where he had no chance against Daniil Medvedev in the second round last year. “Playing on grass is so beautiful. I have to admit that my level on grass still needs to improve a bit, although I’m satisfied,” said Alcaraz after his first lap. “Of course I am not an experienced player on grass yet, but I will get better. My game is fine at the moment.”
Source: discovery+