World No. 106 Tim van Rijthoven wants 3-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the first round of Wimbledon
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Tim van Rijthoven and Novak Djokovic
Tim van Rijthoven made the headlines when he defeated the top-seed and then ranked World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev in the finals of the 2022 Libema Open. The 25-year-old Dutchman was playing in an ATP tournament for the first time, courtesy of a wildcard from the tournament organisers as the event was held in s’ Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands.
Tim was ranked 205th in the world at the start of the tournament and with his title, he rose 99 places to be ranked 106th in the world taking a massive jump. Apart from the big boost in his ranking, his title has also helped him get a wildcard to participate in the 2022 Wimbledon Championships where he will make his main-draw debut in any Grand Slam event.
“I dreamed of standing there and now I am”: Tim van Rijthoven on playing in Wimbledon
Tim had earlier played in the qualifiers due to his low ranking and could not enter the main-draw at a Slam. But with the wildcard, he is all set to play for the first time and he is buzzing with the fact. Another thing that adds to his benefit is that as there are no points at this year’s Wimbledon due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players, Tim can take a good experience and it won’t affect his ranking much as well.
“I have received the wildcard. I’m going to play in the main tournament of a Grand Slam for the first time in my career. It’s really fantastic. Unbelievable, actually. Indescribable. As a small child, I dreamed of standing there and now I am. That’s why it would be great to draw against Novak Djokovic in the first round. Especially now that there are no points to be earned, that seems very cool to me,” said Tim in comments reported by TennisBuzz.
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Sarthak Shitole
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