Tim van Rijthoven couldn’t do much with Reilly Opelka’s special comment during their duel in the second round of Wimbledon. The fifteenth-seeded Opelka is said to have told spectators along the track that Van Rijthoven “will become the best player in the world one day”.
After the match won by the Dutchman in four sets, Van Rijthoven was asked by a Danish journalist about his reaction to those statements. “Did he say that? I have to agree,” said Van Rijthoven with a laugh.
“But he said that in the heat of the battle. Of course you have to take that with a grain of salt. It’s a nice compliment, but I can’t do much with it,” added the number 104 in the world soberly.
Van Rijthoven (25) is the first Dutch man in the third round of Wimbledon since 2013. Nine years ago, Igor Sijsling joined the last 32 in London.
