Unseeded players, Tallon Griekspoor and Benjamin Bonzi face each other in the finals of the 2023 Tata Maharashtra Open on Saturday.
The Dutchman has had a great campaign so far in Adelaide. He is eyeing his first title on the ATP Tour. Griekspoor is yet to drop a set in the competition.
In 2022, Griekspoor reached his first ATP singles quarterfinal in Melbourne. He has now made it to his first final at the ATP circuit. Griekspoor also broke into the top 50 of the ATP rankings for the first time in his career. The Dutch No. 2 has been one of the most improved players in recent times and the kind of tennis he has played will certainly give hope to his fans.
Tallon Griekspoor began his season with a relatively easy win against 7th seed Jaume Munar. The match ended in straight sets 6-4, 7-5. Griekspoor took a lot of confidence from this victorious start and knocked off Italy’s Marco Cecchinato in the round of 16. The match ended 6-4, 6-4 in favor of the 26-year-old. The world No. 95 was about to meet top seed Marin Cilic in the quarterfinals. However, a knee injury for the Croatian veteran meant that he was unable to compete in the match. Griekspoor went on to face 8th seed Aslan Karatsev in the semis. The first set was thrilling but Griekspoor managed to bag it by winning the tiebreaker. He oozed class in the second set and eventually won the match 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.
The talented Frenchman has reached his first final on the ATP circuit and everyone who has watched him play in this tournament would agree that he has richly deserved it.
Benjamin Bonzi reached the semifinals of an ATP tour-level event for the first time in 2022. He lost to Andrey Rublev in the semis of the Open 13 last year. Bonzi also made it to the semis at the 2022 Mallorca Open as well but on that occasion, he was ousted by Stefanos Tsitsipas. He has used those experiences and finally won his first tour-level semifinal to stay one step away from winning an ATP title. Bonzi has lost just one set so far in the competition and also won three out of the four tiebreaks that have happened in his matches.
Bonzi, who is 26 years old, began his campaign in India with a comfortable win against Taiwan’s Tseng Chun-hsin. He carried the good form into his next match in the round of 16 against third seed Emil Ruusuvuori. After losing the first set, Ruusuvuori managed to provide a good fight in the second set. However, it went in vain as Bonzi won the encounter 6-1, 7-6 (7-4). The world No. 60 went on to defeat another seeded player, Filip Krajinovic in the quarterfinals. This time, the first set was decided in the tiebreak while the second set was won relatively easily by Bonzi. In the semis, 2nd seed Botic van de Zandschulp locked horns with Bonzi. The first two sets were evenly contested with both players winning one apiece. The final set was where Bonzi stood out and he ultimately won the match 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (5-7), 6-1.
Benjamin Bonzi has a 1-0 lead in the head-to-head scoreline against Tallon Griekspoor. Their only meeting came in a Challenger event in Blois, France and the home favorite won the match in three sets. That match took place in June 2017. A lot has changed since then. Expect the two players to give it their all in their first final at the tour-level.
Prediction: Benjamin Bonzi to win in three sets.
More Tennis news
Follow our dedicated Tennis page for instant Tennis news and updates