Tim van Rijthoven hopes to continue his advance in tennis on Friday and to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon. His coach Igor Sijsling, with whom he has only been working together since the beginning of this year, predicts a great future for the 25-year-old Dutchman.
The 34-year-old Sijsling, number 52 in the world in 2014, already saw the potential of Van Rijthoven during his own career. His pupil recently caused a sensation by winning the Rosmalen tournament and is on the brink of the global top 100.
“Last year he already asked me if I could do something for him. At that time I was still playing tennis myself, but it changed a bit due to an injury of mine. This year he came up with the question whether I could help him and that’s it. do,” said Sijsling.
“I had my doubts, because I still liked tennis very much. I would have loved to play, but I also noticed that I was getting older. No, you will no longer see me as a professional tennis player.”
In recent years, the slumped Sijsling was often active in the same circuit as Van Rijthoven, the challengers. “He was always a player I saw something in and had faith in, a diamond in the rough. I try to polish him a bit here and there, but he is mainly doing well himself,” said Sijsling.
The coach and his pupil will work even more intensively in the coming period. “This is not his ceiling and Tim can do a lot better than he shows now. For example, he can use his strength even better by playing really attacking.”
Tim van Rijthoven won the Rosmalen tournament and continues that line at Wimbledon for the time being.
Tim van Rijthoven won the Rosmalen tournament and continues that line at Wimbledon for the time being. Photo: Getty Images
‘I’m amazed he can handle it mentally so well’
Sijsling looks back on a special month of June. Where Van Rijthoven was still little known before the Rosmalen tournament, the Dutch people have now become acquainted with him.
“Sometimes things suddenly go very fast with a player. Then the penny drops, you gain confidence, you play well and you win a lot of pots. But nobody expected that he would win Rosmalen. I thought it was all possible once, but it will all come very soon,” said Sijsling.
“I am somewhat surprised that he can handle it all so well mentally. And the ease with which he wins matches is very impressive. We really want to get to the fourth round here. We just see it as the next hurdle.”
Sijsling was the last Dutchman in the third round at Wimbledon in 2013. He then gave up against the Croat Ivan Dodig. “I remember sleeping very badly and having some sort of food poisoning, which made me throw up a few times. I noticed that I couldn’t get enough that day. That was a sad ending.”
Van Rijthoven will play in the third round of Wimbledon on Friday against Nikoloz Basilashvili, the number 26 in the world. The party starts at 12 noon.