While Niels Visker and Sidané Pontjodikromo qualified for the quarter-finals, Max Houkes was eliminated late on Thursday evening at the professional tournament in Haren. Not to mention the highest placed. It fits perfectly into a tennis year that the young Drent experiences as disappointing.
He wanted it so badly, after a great year in which he rose more than 700 places to position 273 in the world rankings: to advance. But that didn’t work yet. Instead of heading towards the top 100, Houkes is now probably falling just outside the top 300.
Two tournaments under my belt
If you look soberly at his results, things are not that bad. Around this time last year, Houkes had just won his first professional tournament, the ITF tournament of Oldenzaal, in the week prior to ‘Haren’. This year, Houkes already has two tournament victories under his belt.
Yet. Houkes’ participation in the Challengers, the second professional level, has not yet been a great success. Too often Houkes gets stuck in the first round. “I had imagined it differently,” the 23-year-old professional tennis player said a day earlier, sitting at a table in the canteen of TSH, where the ITF tournament is in full swing. “After last year I thought: now we’re going to continue well, now we’re heading towards the top 100. But that hasn’t worked yet. They say: it is a learning year, I will still harvest. But it does feel difficult, if you often lose quickly, it is simply not good for your self-confidence.”
‘Near 300: not that badly done’
With his coach Colin van Beem, Houkes is not thinking about giving up. “I also think that it will all come. I recently spoke to an experienced professional player who said: ‘If you stay close to place 300 next year, then you have done just fine.’ I actually think so too. It’s a higher level that I’m playing at now.”
This year he won the tournaments in The Hague and Palmanova on Mallorca, both with prizes of 25,000 dollars. He reached the semi-finals last week in Oldenzaal (also 25,000 dollars), but in Haren (15,000 dollars) the second round is the final stage. Compatriot Stijn Pel (21) was too strong in three sets on Thursday evening: 4-6, 6-3, 2-6.
Visker and Pontjodikromo to the top eight
With Houkes, the strongest northerner on paper disappeared from the tournament, but two others are still doing well. Sidané Pontjodikromo, born and raised in Groningen, reached the quarter-finals in Haren for the first time in his career, by beating Justin Roberts of the Bahamas: 3-6, 6-3, 6-3. And Niels Visker also placed among the best eight. The Lagelander also needed three sets against the Italian Andrea Bolla: 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. Visker will meet compatriot Brian Bozemoj on Friday, Pontjodikromo will play against Sander Jong, who previously sent Havelter Stijn Slump home.
Veteran Thiemo de Bakker also joined the best eight. De Hagenaar, winner of Wimbledon among the juniors in 2006, defeated Dax Donders in two sets: 7-6, 6-2.
Visker and Pontjodikromo are both also in the doubles tournament, where they have reached the semi-finals. Visker together with Rodenaar Jarno Jans, Pontjodikromo together with fellow countryman Dax Donders.