‘Bullied as a child?’ Tallon Griekspoor gets candid on how tough it was growing up with two DOMINANT brothers after reaching in maiden ATP Final in Pune
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Tallon Griekspoor (Image via Maharashtra Open)
Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor must be loving life in 2023 as he reaches his maiden ATP Tour final in Pune in the first week of the year. He defeated 8th seed Aslan Karatsev convincingly on Friday in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-1 to reach the final of the Maharashtra Open. Griekspoor, who won a record 8 Challenger tournaments last year, will compete for his maiden ATP title on Saturday at the Balewadi Tennis Complex.
Speaking to the media after reaching the final, Griekspoor shared his thoughts about playing the biggest match of his life. He said that this is something he wanted to achieve this year and to do it in the first week is extra special for him. He said that despite his happiness, he isn’t getting carried away and wants to focus on the final.
“It’s something you work for every day, something you try to achieve. It was definitely a goal coming into the 2023 season to get to the final and to do it in the first week is really special and a great feeling. At the same time, the tournament is not over, there’s one more match to come but yeah, really happy with how I’ve been playing so far this week and looking forward to tomorrow,” Griekspoor said.
Griekspoor put in a lot of hard work in the off-season and talked about his level. He said that it’s always a new territory when you play during the first week but added that he couldn’t be happier about the level at which he’s competing.
“Coming into the first week of the year, you never know how your level is going to be. You’ve been practicing a lot, you haven’t played many matches last month so yeah, really happy with how I’m playing. I can’t be happier at this moment,” he added.
Tallon Griekspoor talks about growing up with two twin brothers
Tallon grew up with two twin brothers who were older than him. When asked about the challenges of growing up with them, he said that while it was a bit tough for him as a child, he has no complaints. For him, his two brothers were like two extra fathers, and currently, they sometimes travel with him too. He informed the media that one of his brothers will travel with him to Australia too.
“Not really left out but it was tough,” he said with a grin. “It was always two against one. It was always like I had two extra fathers but now, it’s great. One of my brothers will come to Australia next week. They travel with me sometimes and are involved in my tennis. It was always great to have your brothers travel and practice with you. At this point, it’s just me left. They aren’t playing so sometimes it’s extra pressure from back home but no, I have a blast with them.”
In his maiden ATP Final, Griekspoor will face Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi on Saturday evening. Both men will compete for their maiden tour titles.
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Lakshya Chopra
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