Tim van Rijthoven is in the third round of Wimbledon. The Roosendaler won in four sets against the American Reilly Opelka. In the next round Nikoloz Basilashvili awaits.
With Reilly Opelka, placed as number 15, Van Rijthoven hit a service gun. The 2.11 meter tall American is known for his many aces and also showed against the Roosendaler that he could serve. For Van Rijthoven it was important to bring the first ball back into play and get into the rally. Then there were opportunities.
That worked very well in the first set, which led to a break. Van Rijthoven kept his own games and won the first set 6-4.
Two tiebreaks
After that it got incredibly exciting. In both sets two and three there had to be a tiebreak. In the first tiebreak, Opelka took the lead. He managed to score a point on the service of the Brabander once. That was enough to take the set.
The third set was again nerve-wracking. But this time it was Van Rijthoven who won. It was millimeter work, but the hawk-eye (video referee) gave the ball at a 7-7 score, allowing Van Rijthoven to serve for the set and take it.
The match was exciting, but not spectacular. There were no real rallies due to the strong services of both gentlemen. It is not for nothing that Opelka is called an anti-tennis player by tennis enthusiasts.
Unique performance
Set four became a copy of set two and three. Again it was 6-6 and a tiebreak had to make the difference. The Roosendaler quickly managed to place a mini-break in it. At 6-3 he got three match points. Opelka managed to make one more harmless, but the second match point was hit.
Van Rijthoven is the sixteenth Dutchman to reach the third round at Wimbledon. In the next round Nikoloz Basilashvili awaits. This match is scheduled for Friday.