We’re down to four players at the ATP Libema Open in Den Bosch, Netherlands. Tallon Griekspoor came through the ever-plucky Alex De Minaur and will now take on Emil Ruusuvuori, who downed Jannik Sinner without losing a point on first-serve. On the other side of the draw, both Rinky Hijakata and Jordan Thompson won their matches after dropping tight first sets. We’ve taken it upon ourselves at LWOT to try to predict which players will contest the final.
ATP Den Bosch Semifinal Predictions
Rinky Hijikata vs Jordan Thompson
Head-to-head: Thompson 2-0 Hijikata (Challenger)
Rinky Hijikata is playing with house money at this point. He’s a lucky loser that’s survived his last three matches from a set down. They’ve been good wins and the Aussie has served exceptionally well–we were tempted to say this doesn’t mean Hijikata will play freely in his next match but history would suggest the complete opposite. The world #133 is a cool 21-7 when he’s progressed to the semifinals of any tournament and was fantastic during his Australian Open doubles title run at the start of the year.
Hijikata is a momentum player and should be able to give his compatriot, Jordan Thompson, something to worry about. Thompson brings a solid base-level to his matches but Hijikata could play flashily enough to clinch it in the bigger moments. It’ll probably go down to the wire and we’re tempted to side with the underdog.
Prediction: Hijikata in 3
Emil Ruusuvuori vs Tallon Griekspoor
Head-to-head: Griekspoor 1-0 Ruusuvuori (Futures)
Emil Ruusuvuori’s win against Jannik Sinner was commendable but it wasn’t without its head-scratching moments. 100% of his first-serve points won? Sinner changing his first-service stance and winning only 63% of his own first-serve points? It was a big win but things were definitely a little off. With that in mind, his game has holes on a grass court–he’s still missing a slider in the deuce court which should make his serve slightly readable (obviously it wasn’t in this case). His power does give him an edge from the ground against most players, however.
Still, the Finn isn’t playing ridiculous tennis and Tallon Griekspoor should be able to do more than enough in his own service games to keep up. More than that actually–here’s the one stat you need to know:
- Griekspoor vs top 20 players outside of the Netherlands: 0-10
- Griekspoor vs top 20 players in the Netherlands: 5-2
Some players are built this way, finding that extra edge when they’ve got the home crowd behind them. We’re not being distracted by Ruusuvuori’s first Top 10 win in two years and we think Griekspoor will light up on home soil.
Prediction: Griekspoor in 3
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
