2023 was by far the best of Tallon Griekspoor’s career. Prior to this year, he had only won 24 ATP matches, this year alone he won 27. He had never won a title, this year he won two. The Dutchman had never beaten a top 10 player, he did it in Washington to reach his first ever ATP 500 final. He had never been ranked top 50, he reached as high as #21 and ended the year #23. It was an amazing year for Griekspoor, one that might well end up being the best of his career when all is said and done.
Tallon Griekspoor – 2023 Season in Review
First career title in Pune and first Grand Slam third round in Australia
Griekspoor had a spectacular start to the season, winning his first ever career title in his first ever title in Pune in a very tightly contested final against Benjamin Bonzi. He then went to Australia and reached his first ever Grand Slam third round, only losing to eventual finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas. Finally, he went on to reach the semifinals at home in Rotterdam, losing a very tight two setter against Jannik Sinner, to cap off an incredible start to the season.
Second career title at ‘s-Hertogenbosch
After Rotterdam, Griekspoor slumped for a bit, with a lot of early losses, especially during the clay season. You couldn’t be blamed for thinking his early 2023 had only been a flash in the pan, but he proved that theory wrong by starting the grasscourt season with a title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, winning a very tightly contested final against Jordan Thompson. He then lost a very close quarterfinal at Halle against Andrey Rublev before disappointingly losing in the first round at Wimbledon against Marton Fucsovics, winning only eight games. It was still a very positive grass court season overall.
First ATP 500 final and end of season slump
After the Wimbledon disappointment, Griekspoor got immediately back on track, reaching his first ever ATP 500 final in his first tournament back, getting his first ever Top 10 win in the process when he beat Taylor Fritz in the semifinal. In the final, he couldn’t produce his best tennis and got beaten in relatively straightforward fashion by an on-fire Dan Evans, but it was still one of the best and most significant weeks of his career. He couldn’t really build on it, however, and the rest of his season was very unremarkable, with another first round loss in a Slam at the US Open and many more early losses. He found his groove again in the indoor season, though, with two very good weeks at Basel and Paris; in Basel, he beat Alex Minaur and put up an excellent fight against Hubert Hurkacz in the quarterfinals. Then in Paris, he beat Davidovich Fokina and came tantalizingly close to upsetting the World #1 and eventual champion Novak Djokovic in the Round of 16, but it ultimately wasn’t to be. He ended his season with a loss to Jannik Sinner in Davis Cup.
It will extremely hard for Tallon Griekspoor to improve on what he has done this year, or even maintain this level. His game has a lot of limitations, but he’s a very solid and hardworking player so you cannot count him out. Even if he doesn’t reach the Top 20, he should be able to remain a good ATP level player for a few years.
Main Photo Credit: Mike Frey-USA TODAY Sports
