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.

Fans can visit Challenger TV to watch all ATP Challenger Tour matches live and on demand at no cost. 

Back from the brink with a bang.

On Monday, Milos Raonic defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in his first competitive match for almost two years at the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. It was an emotional moment for the former World No. 3, who later admitted he had all but given up hope on competing again after a string of injuries that began with an achilles problem in July 2021.

“Many times I didn’t even want to bother trying, because I was so far away from it,” said Raonic in his post-match press conference. “There were moments when I said, ‘I’m done’. At the end of 2021, I had no intention to play again, [I thought] ‘I’m going to figure out my life’, shortly after I got married.

“One thing I did learn, which is a nice lesson, is life will be OK after tennis, which is kind of a fear because you put so much time into one thing and a singular skill. You don’t ever put the time into it thinking you want to dedicate your whole life to it… It just becomes your life. Then trying to figure out what you want to dedicate your life to after tennis, that’s kind of a hard thing… I got on OK with that.

“Once I started feeling a little bit better, I wanted to play tennis just to stay in shape. I started playing golf five hours a day. It really was not for me. I still enjoy it and I love it, but I’m not very good at not being good at something, and accepting that, so I’m happy to be on court again.”

That certainly seemed to be the case on Monday, when the 32-year-old Raonic dispatched fifth seed Kecmanovic to reach the second round on debut in ‘s-Hertogenbosch. Despite his apparently calm demeanour throughout the match, the Canadian admitted to being anything but on the inside.

“It was very stressful at times,” said Raonic of his win. “I’ve played after injuries many times, when I‘ve missed three or four months, even I think after six months when I had my hip surgery when I was much younger, but two years is a whole different thing.

“Two years is a lot more turmoil in that sense, and just really stepping away from tennis at the end of 2021, and not really picking up a racquet for pretty much a full year, without hitting a single ball. To want to come back took a lot, and to want to make the most of it.

“I didn’t just want to come back and to be a player that I wouldn’t be proud of, so it took a lot of energy for me to put in. I’m happy I got to here and am very grateful that I can play.”

What a comeback 🫶

After two years away from the tour @milosraonic claims victory 👏@LibemaOpen | #LibemaOpen pic.twitter.com/VJb0H4sSn9

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 12, 2023

Raonic’s triumph against Kecmanovic was his 50th tour-level win on grass, a surface the Canadian’s big-serving, aggressive game has always suited. Due to continued uncertainty surrounding his fitness, the 32-year-old is not sure how long his comeback will last but said his decision to return on grass was fuelled by a couple of short-term goals.

“It was very intentional [to come back on grass]. Wimbledon means the most to me, and I haven’t played it since 2019,” said Raonic, who reached the final at SW19 in 2016. “I’ll play it one more time. I don’t know what will happen after that, but I’ll play it one more time. It’s also Toronto this year. I grew up 10 minutes from the stadium, that’s another one that’s important to me. I like the idea that I’ll play those at least one more time.”

The tale of eight-time ATP Tour titlist Raonic’s long-term absence from the Tour is one of continued misfortune. Even now he has returned to action, the Canadian faces a constant battle to manage his body and prepare it for the rigours of Tour.

“The thing that flares up is the achilles,” explained Raonic. “In July 2021 I learned I had swelling in my achilles, and when the swelling went away, I learnt I had tears in my achilles. I didn’t want to have surgery. It would have healed me quicker, but I didn’t know how I would turn out after that, so I wanted to go the longer way of dealing with through rest and rehab. It wasn’t a rupture, just four or five small tears.

“Once that started feeling better, I just had a stint of bad luck. I broke my toe two days after my wedding. I went to try and do some rehab exercises, a weight fell on my foot and all of a sudden I can’t wear shoes for two months… Then I tore a calf, then I got COVID for the first time. Each of these things, I could have dealt with if I was in the momentum of playing and something to rush back for… But with how everything went, I decided to be a little bit conservative with each step.”

His experiences make Raonic reluctant to commit to any long-term goals on his return to Tour, but he is willing to put in the hard yards if it allows him to express himself the way he wants to on court.

“I have to be quick, and I have to be able to be aggressive,” said Raonic. “If I can’t do those things, I can’t play tennis the way I think is best for me and can’t achieve the things I want to achieve. Those kinds of things require a certain level of physical preparedness. Now I can do it, but I don’t know how it will be in two days, I don’t know how it will be in two weeks.

“Everything is one by one, but I know that even if I have a bunch of pain come my next match, I will step on court one more time to play Wimbledon and I will step on court one more time to play Toronto… Somebody would have to tell me that I’m risking a lot more than just an athletic future for me not to play those two events one more time.”