Tallon Griekspoor, a rising Dutch star, knew what was on the line when he faced Jan-Lennard Struff in the opening round of the US Open.
Griekspoor defeated Struff in five sets to go to the second round of the US Open, where world No.
Novak Djokovic awaited his arrival. Griekspoor, who has risen to a career high of Little. 89 in the world, had no chance against Djokovic, who triumphed 6-2 6-3 6-2.
“First of all, the win I got against Jan-Lennard Struff [in the first round] was already big.
“It was 7-5 in the fifth and I was two sets to one down. I was struggling a bit,” Griekspoor told the ATP Tour.
Griekspoor says that Djokovic destroyed him
“You win the match and you shake his hand and realize you’re playing Novak two days later.
“In the end, it was a night session on Ashe and it was unbelievable. But it wasn’t too much fun. He was literally kicking my ass.
“I couldn’t play tennis at all. He showed me why he’s one of the best ever. You feel like you can’t get a point.
“You think that if you go forehand down the line it might work, but the next thing you know you’re running to your backhand,” Griekspoor explained.
Griekspoor may not have beaten Novak Djokovic, but he still considers it a win.
“But it was a big win for me to be there. And all the hard work the last few years on the Challenger Tour and the ITFs gave me this reward to play one of the best players on Ashe.
“I enjoyed it a lot and the stadium and crowd were crazy.
“That was an unbelievable week. I think I learned my lesson from that match because I haven’t lost again after that.
“It shows you where you want to go and where you have to improve,” Griekspoor added.
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