IN A battle of Netherlands’ top two ATP Tour players, the higher ranked of the pair in Tallon Griekspoor was able to outlast his compatriot Botic Van de Zandschulp in straight sets, 7-5 6-3 to book his place in the Round of 16 at the Open Occitanie.

The ATP 250 event saw the pair of Dutchmen go head-to-head for the third time on the ATP Tour. Fittingly they have split the previous two meetings with Van de Zandschulp winning at Winston Salem in 2022, before Griekspoor got up at the 2023 Australian Open.

With identical heights and just over 12 months separating the pair, Griekspoor is currently ranked just inside the world’s Top 50, while for van Zandsculp it is just inside the Top 100. That differential was on show during their match with Griekspoor able to win in straight sets, breaking four times to two during the match.

Griekspoor’s attacking play – which included eight aces and 24 winners compared to van de Zandsculp’s four and 16 respectively – was key, though his opponents’ 11 double faults and first serve percentage of only 49 certainly helped. Both players held impressive first serve success rates at above 70 per cent, but Griekspoor was able to stay ahead despite failing to serve out the first set earlier.

He was serving at 5-2 only to be broken off the first break point he faced and all of a sudden it looked to be going the other way. Van de Zandsculp held to love to tie the game and had a break point off the Griekspoor serve, but his higher ranked compatriot steadied to hold. Then just as it looked set for a tiebreaker, Griekspoor broke to seal the deal right there.

The second set saw a couple of breaks traded early, but when Van de Zandsculp failed to repeat the dose in the seventh game, his friend made him pay. Griekspoor held, then broke to love before comfortably serving out the match for a 7-5 6-3 victory in an hour and 37 minutes.

Griekspoor’s willingness to come to the next proved the key, hitting 10 winners off volleys compared to his opponent’s just one. While Van de Zandsculp’s dangerous forehand proved a headache (eight winners), he was unable to win the key pressure points, with the fifth seed winning nine of those 11.

The Dutchman has a great shot at reaching the quarter finals, taking on French veteran Richard Gasquet in the second round. Gasquet made it courtesy of a huge upset win over compatriot Adrian Mannarino in one of two all-French clashes. Arthur Rinderknech saw off Harold Mayot in the other, while qualifier Constant Lestienne overcame Croatian Borna Coric.

American Christopher Eubanks and Italian Mattia Bellucci were the other first round winners overnight, with the last three Round of 32 matches to come tonight. A couple of experienced heads in qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili and Kazakhstan’s Mikhail Kukushkin begin proceedings, while sixth seed David Goffin meets American qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic. In the final match, French wildcard Quentin Halys takes on another Dutchman in Jesper De Jong.

ROUND OF 32 RESULTS:

[5] Tallon Griekspoor (NED) defeated Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) 7-5 6-3
[7] Arthur Rinderknecht (FRA) defeated Harold Mayot (FRA) 7-6 2-6 6-1
[8] Yunchaokete Bu (CHN) defeated Daniel Altmaier (GER) 7-6 6-3
Arthur Cazaux (FRA) defeated [WC] Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 6-4 6-3
Dominik Koepfer (GER) defeated [WC] Gregoire Barrere (FRA) 6-4 7-6
Christopher Eubanks (USA) defeated [Q] Alibek Kachmazov (RUS) 7-5 6-4
[Q] Constant Lestienne (FRA) defeated Borna Coric (CRO) 6-3 7-5
Mattia Bellucci (ITA) defeated Lucas Pouille (FRA) 6-4 6-4
Richard Gasquet (FRA) defeated Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 6-3 6-2