World No 205 Tim Van Rijthoven wins first ATP title

World No 205 Tim Van Rijthoven wins his first ATP title to complete dream week

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World No 205 Tim Van Rijthoven wins his first ATP title to complete dream week

World No 205 Tim Van Rijthoven won his first ATP title in ‘s-Hertogenbosch as he defeated Daniil Medvedev in the final on Sunday.

The Dutch player, who had entered the main draw through wildcard, defeated Medvedev top seed 6-4, 6-1 on Sunday.

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“This is new for me, it’s going to take some time getting used to,” said Van Rijthoven, who had not won a tour-level match prior to this week, in his on-court interview.

“What a dream this week. I would like to thank my team for staying humble this week, doing the normal things, not making this thing any bigger than it was.”

Prior to this week, Van Rijthoven had not won a single match on the ATP Tour.

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He recorded upset wins over Taylor Fritz, Hugo Gaston and Felix Auger-Aliassime en route the final.

Van Rijthoven’s run in ‘s-Hertogenbosch is set to propel the Dutchman up 99 places to a career-high No. 106 in Monday’s update of ATP Rankings.

Meanwhile, Medvedev took over as World No 1 on Monday.

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The defeat means Medvedev remains trophy-less for 2022, but the 26-year-old will nonetheless be heartened by his run in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, which culminated in his first tour-level championship match appearance since the Australian Open in January.

Berrettini wins in Stuttgart

Matteo Berrettini

Matteo Berrettini capped his return to Tour by winning his first title of the season Sunday, overcoming former World No. 1 Andy Murray 6-4, 5-7, 6-3 in the Stuttgart final.

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The Italian missed the clay season after undergoing a minor operation on his right hand in late March, but has played like he has never been away in Stuttgart, improving to 28-6 on grass.

“My body is hurting a little bit,” Berrettini said when reflecting on how he feels physically. “It had been three matches without matches and today was almost three hours, so I am feeling it.”

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Murray was playing in his first tour-level singles final on grass since he lifted the trophy at Wimbledon in 2016.

The Scot, who upset World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to his 10th tour-level championship match on grass, is up to No. 47 in the rankings.

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