Libema Open: World No. 205 Tim Van Rijthoven defeats Daniil Medvedev to win his first ATP title

Wildcard Tim Van Rijthoven ended his run-on home soil at Libema Open with his maiden tour-level title. The Dutchman broke World No. 2, Daniil Medvedev, four times to seal his first victory against a Top ten opponent. He was close to winning the second set with a bagel, but his Russian opponent saved a championship point to end the second set 6-1. 

Tim Van Rijthoven competed at a tour-level tournament for the first time since the 2016 Winston-Salem Open. Previously, his only win before competing at the 2022 Libema Open was against Mikael Ymer of Sweden at the 2016 Davis Cup. Considering his past performances, he gave a remarkable performance at the 2022 Libema Open. 

The victory made the run of Tim Van Rijthoven at the Libema Open the most memorable tournament of his career. He defeated the top three seeds at the tournament on the way to his maiden title trophy and will advance close to the top 100 from his current rank of World No. 205.

In a post-match interview, Tim Van Rijthoven said, “What a dream, this week. I want to thank my team for staying humble this week, doing the everyday things, and not making this thing any more significant than it was.”

Tim Van Rijthoven got close to qualifying at this year’s Frech Open but lost to Norbert Gombos of Slovakia in the final round after slipping during two tiebreaks. He also failed to be eligible at Surbiton, a grass-court ATP Challenger Tour event, before getting a wildcard at Libema Open.

Daniil Medvedev was aiming to win his first title since winning his maiden Grand Slam at the 2021 US Open. Daniil Medvedev is set to take over the top spot on the Pepperstone ATP Rankings from Serbian Great Novak Djokovic on June 13, owing to Serb’s quarter-final loss against Rafael Nadal at the French Open.

Ekaterina Alexandrova surprises Aryna Sabalenka to win the Libema Open

Ekaterina Alexandrov of Russia defeated Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 7-5, 6-0 to win the women’s singles event of the Libema Open with a straight-set victory at Autotron Rosmalen in the Netherlands on June 12.

World number 30 Ekaterina Alexandrova won the second title of her career on the grass of s-Hertogenbosch, with her previous title coming at Shenzen, China, in 2020. World No. 6 Aryna Sabalenka started well and took a quick 5-4 lead. However, Ekaterina Alexandrov soon turned around, the game as the match went on, winning the first set 7-5. 

 Aryna Sabalenka lost her footing and nine back-to-back games as Ekaterina Alexandrov took advantage and went on the offensive. Aryna Sabalenka committed 31 unfocused errors, while her Russian opponent ended the match with an ace and two service winners.