Tim van Rijthoven believes Novak Djokovic DESERVES to play in Australia despite his vaccination stand, terms Wimbledon center court match against the Serb as the ‘best experience’ of his life
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Novak Djokovic and Tim van Rijthoven
It wasn’t his day at the inaugural tournament of the 2023 season for Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven as he went down fighting against 8th seed Aslan Karatsev in the Round of 16 of the Maharashtra Open. The 25-year-old lost the match to Karatsev in straight sets 6-7(7),6-7(8). He will now head to Melbourne and will play the qualifying rounds for the 2023 Australian Open.
Speaking to FirstSportz in Pune, van Rijthoven expressed his disappointment with the result. He had a set point in the first set tie-break and had two set points in the second set but didn’t convert either of them. He said that it was a very tough match and despite serving well, he couldn’t convert crucial points which cost him the match.
“It was a very tough match. Two tie-breaks. I had multiple set points in both sets. He played well, we both served very well, and we didn’t give each other a lot of chances,” van Rijthoven said.
The 2022 season was a breakthrough season for van Rijthoven where he won his maiden ATP title and also made it to the second week at Wimbledon. He shared his takeaways from 2022 and vowed to work even harder this year. “Keep working hard, maybe even harder. If you do the right things, stay disciplined, you will be consistent, and you will have good results,” he added.
Tim van Rijthoven on facing Novak Djokovic on the center court at Wimbledon
Tim van Rijthoven faced Serbian maestro Novak Djokovic in the Round of 16 at Wimbledon 2022. Despite losing the match, the Dutchman gave a tough fight to Djokovic and even took a set against him. It was his first match on a big court like Wimbledon’s center court. He said that playing Djokovic on center court was one of the best experiences of his life and explained in detail about the different feel he had as compared to other matches.
“You have to go into a match thinking you can beat anyone otherwise it makes no sense to play. It was one of the best experiences of my life. Seeing the center court, walking on center court, seeing all those people, seeing the beautiful court, and playing against one of the all-time greats was a great experience,” van Rijthoven said.
As for Djokovic, he has been granted permission to play in Australia this year despite being unvaccinated. Van Rijthoven believes that Djokovic playing in Australia again is great for tennis and everyone deserves to play anywhere irrespective of their beliefs. “I think it’s great. I think everybody deserves to play regardless of their beliefs. I think it’s only good for tennis that he’s going to play,” he said.
Last season, van Rijthoven defeated some big names like Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev when no one expected him. He spoke about how close he is to get the better of top players again this year.
“I think I’m very close. Even today against Aslan, he’s a very good player- made the semifinals in Australia. Maybe he isn’t in his very best form but I had my chances. Looking back at those weeks gives me a lot of confidence and a big boost to know that I can just do it and compete with the big guys and maybe compete for the ATP titles again,” he concluded.
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Lakshya Chopra
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