Tallon Griekspoor gave an expert demonstration of handling home pressure Tuesday at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, where the sixth seed held firm in the face of a Mikael Ymer comeback to seal a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 first-round victory.

Playing to keep Dutch representation alive in the singles draw at the grass-court ATP 250, Griekspoor converted three of his 10 break points to seal his 17th tour-level win of 2023 and equal his personal-best number of wins in a single season.

“Happy with the performance, happy with the win,” said Griekspoor after his triumph. “Especially at home. I really enjoy playing at home. [Big] crowds, a lot of support, a lot of friends and family in the stands, so I really enjoyed that win.

“[It was] a tough match. The first match on grass is never easy, so I’m really happy to get through and to get another chance on Thursday.”

The 26-year-old Griekspoor, who also reached the second round in ‘s-Hertogenbosch in 2022, will take on Alexei Popyrin next after the Australian overcame Arthur Rinderknech 6-3, 7-6(6) .

Milos Raonic, who on Monday earned a straight-sets win against Miomir Kecmanovic in his first match since July 2021, will play Jordan Thompson in the second round. Australia’s Thompson, who reached the championship match in 2019, overcame French qualifier Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4, 7-6(3) on Tuesday.

Before Tuesday afternoon in Stuttgart, Wu Yibing had not played a match on grass since he was a junior.

That relative inexperience on the surface did not stop the Chinese from notching an impressive opening win at the BOSS OPEN, where he defeated a physically struggling Nick Kyrgios 7-5, 6-3 in the first-round at the ATP 250 event in Germany.

“The last time I played on grass was juniors back in 2017, so six years,” said Wu after his victory. “I was really happy to play Nick in the first round. He’s one of the best players on grass and he served well… He aced me [so many] times. The key for me was to stay cool, stay patient in the game and find a way. I’m happy [with that result].”

Kyrgios, who had surgery to repair a small tear in his left lateral meniscus in January, appeared to be struggling physically from early in the match, at one point telling his team he was unable to ‘walk without pain’.

Wu saved a break point in the opening game with a classy forehand on the run before making his move on return to break Kyrgios in the 12th game and claim the first set. As Kyrgios’ movement grew visibly more restricted, the World No. 64 Wu also claimed the only break of the second set to seal his third Top 30 win.

“It was pretty special because it was very tense, and he was holding his service games pretty easily,” said Wu, when asked about his break to claim the opening set. “I was suffering [on serve] sometimes because he has a better serve than me, but I was patient in the match. I will keep going and work on my serve, and hopefully I can be a better server.”

Kei Nishikori will play his first match in 20 months Tuesday at the ATP Challenger Tour 75 event in Palmas del Mar, Puerto Rico.

The Japanese star, who underwent arthroscopic left hip surgery last year, will face American Christian Langmo in the opening round of the Caribbean Open. The match will follow a doubles contest that is scheduled not before Tuesday 6pm ET/Wednesday 7am Tokyo. Former World No. 4 Nishikori and Langmo will close the order of play Tuesday at the hard-court event.

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