The Dutchman
Tim van Rijthoven's dream Grand Slam debut continued in style on Friday at
Wimbledon, where he took out 22nd seed Nikoloz Basilashvili with an impressive 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 third-round victory.
Currently No. 104 in the ATP Rankings, van Rijthoven is just the seventh player since 2000 to reach the fourth round on his first main draw appearance at a major. Van Rijthoven had not won a tour-level match prior to the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch three weeks ago, but the 25-year-old stormed to the title at the ATP 250 event.
Speaking after his latest win at Wimbledon, Tim said:
“From the outside, it obviously looks like a fairytale because it
came out of nowhere for a lot of people. Also, the ATP title for me came out of
nowhere because I didn't even win an [ATP Challenger Tour] title before.
I played some finals. The level there is just also very high. But it's basically a sum-up of a lot of hard work, a lot of belief,
and eventually very positive vibes just going into matches and going
into practices. That is basically what's happening right now, it's
because of that.”