Griekspoor clinches maiden ATP Tour title.
Pune: Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands came back from a set deficit to overcome world No. 60 Benjamin Bont of France in three sets in the men's singles final of Tate Open Maharashtra, becoming the first player since Marc Antres Housler at Sofa in 2002 to win his first tour level tile in his maiden appearance in the final here on Saturday.
This was the first ATP Tour final featuring both first-time finalists since 2022 Munich and both Griekspoor and Bonzi gave it their all to treat the capacity crowd at the Centre Court of Balewadi Stadium to a thrilling encounter.
After losing the first set, Griekspoor came back strongly to win the match 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in two hand m hours and 16 minutes at Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex here. The World No. 95 fought hard for each point and exhibited a world-class level of energy and athleticism. Bonzi on the other hand made unforced errors at a crucial juncture and allowed his Dutch opponent to take control of the match after losing a hard fought second set.
The 26-year-old Griekspoor had made it to the final by beating Aslan Karatsev in straight sets in the semifinal while Bonzi got the better of another Dutch player, Botic van de Zandschulp.
Jeevan-Balaji team loses final in straight sets: N Sriram Balaji and Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan settled for a runner up finish at Tata Open Maharashtra after losing the doubles title clash in straight sets to the Belgian pair of Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen here on Saturday. Balaji, competing in his maiden ATP Tour final, served and stroked well but that was not enough as the Indian team lost the final 4-6, 4-6 in one hour and 10 minutes.