Uhm, Tallon? It's time to wake up
Things have not gone well since the loss to Brooksby in Wimbledon...
Let's go back in time a bit, to Mallorca two months ago. Griekspoor struggled in the 35-degree heat throughout the week and looked miserable. He ended up winning the tournament without dropping a set... He had to go play Brooksby in Wimbledon two days later and got destroyed. When he was playing in Båstad a few weeks later, he appeared on a YouTube podcast (Changeover), and I don't recall his exact words, but he essentially stated that he preferred the title over committing fully to Grand Slams (something to that effect). Yes, that could be an excuse due to his "embarrassing" loss, but I checked his stats for different tournament types, and they tell a clear story: Griekspoor does a lot better in the smaller events (ATP 250 / 500 compared to M1000, GS, and team events). A loss to Etcheverry in straight sets in Toronto and a loss to Medjedovic in straight sets in Cincinnati. Now he finds himself in another pre-slam ATP 250 (like Mallorca), and not only that, but he is also facing an opponent against whom he is 0-3 and 0-7 in sets. Yes, that's Fucsovics! I don't have a lot to say about his first match against Gaston; he was solid against an opponent in bad form that unraveled.
Their most recent meeting was in 2024 in Bucharest, on very slow clay (it had also rained to make it even worse). We know that Griekspoor tends to do very poorly in these conditions... Before that, it was Wimbledon 2023 where Griekspoor had an MTO and a "lackluster on-court demeanor". And the year before that, Fucsovics won fair and square on indoor hardcourt in Rotterdam! And to complete it, they will now play on an outdoor hardcourt! The weather is expected to be around 28-30 degrees, with some cloud cover. I think that playing on a fast outdoor hardcourt will be more beneficial for Tallon... Fucsovics benefits more from grass and clay, and while Griekspoor likes indoor hardcourt, Rotterdam is pretty slow! Yes, now it's starting to become a lot of excuses for Griekspoor ;)
