Top seed Griekspoor, Bublik, Thiem all on center court at Astana Open on Saturday

Ravi Ubha

Tallon Griekspoor finds himself as the top seed at an ATP Tour event for the first time this week at the Astana Open. 

And the Dutchman is fully aware of it. 

«Yeah, I know,» Griekspoor said ahead of his opener on Saturday against Japanese qualifier Sho Shimabukuro on the indoor hard courts of the National Tennis Center. «It’s something special. If you look at the draw, you see some big names and you see your name on the first line.

«It’s something you worked for all your life. It’s a bit surreal at this point and maybe a little extra pressure here. But no, I think it’s a good sign to see your name at the top of the list.» 

The 27-year-old entered Astana at a career-best No. 24 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, with second-seed Sebastian Baez at a career high, too, of No. 27. 

They both have bagged multiple titles in 2023. 

Griekspoor will want to avoid the Astana fate of the Argentine, however, who fell to a qualifier — Jurij Rodionov — on Friday.

Griekspoor gets recognized a little more now, which he light-heartedly said doesn’t hurt when trying to land football or concert tickets. 

Winning the first tournament he played of the new season — at the hard court Tata Open Maharashtra in Pune — did wonders for his confidence. 

So did what happened in the next few tournaments. 

Griekspoor made the round of 32 at a Grand Slam for the first time at the Australian Open before beating Alexander Zverev on the way to the semifinals of February’s ABN AMRO Open at home in Rotterdam. 

It took Jannik Sinner to stop him in two tight sets, 7-5, 7-6. 

«The first six weeks of the year, those were probably a turning point for my mental side,» said Griekspoor, who acknowledged he is «maybe working a bit harder» than before. «For me the most important thing was the belief to have this ranking, the belief to win tournaments. 

«That’s something that this year was really there and helped me a lot.» 

If he wasn’t far off from triumphing indoors in Rotterdam, Griekspoor did get his hands on a trophy at home by claiming June’s Libema Open on grass in ’s-Hertogenbosch.

Given he won six of his unprecedented eight Challenger titles in 2021 on clay, he is an all-rounder. 

So which surface does he enjoy the most? Griekspoor chuckled when asked. 

«I always said it was clay until I started winning ATP (tournaments) on hard courts and grass,» he said. «No, I enjoy playing on all surfaces and I think that’s a good thing.» 

He is ready to make a charge the rest of this season after taking extra rest post Wimbledon and the US Open. 

The opportunity to gain ranking points certainly exists since Griekspoor last campaign lost five straight matches from the end of September to the end of October. 

«Schedule wise, I did a lot better this year,» he said. «As I’m feeling now, I’m feeling great. Now it’s an advantage that I didn’t win anything last year. Back then it was different.»

He faces Shimabukuro — who edged countryman Taro Daniel in three hours, 33 minutes to make the main draw and then toppled Roberto Carballes Baena in Astana— for the first time. 

Alexander Bublik, Kazakhstan’s highest-ranked men’s player at No. 35, defeated Griekspoor last year in the first round in Astana but it didn’t stop him from returning. 

«It’s a really nice tournament, which made me come back,» said Griekspoor. 

Bublik, Thiem also on center court

After an opening bye like Griekspoor, third-seed Bublik — a semifinalist in Astana in 2021 — bids to end a five-match ATP losing streak when he plays Austria’s Sebastian Ofner. 

At No. 58, Ofner is close to his career-best ranking of No. 52 in July. 

If Bublik prevails, a rematch awaits against either 2020 US Open winner Dominic Thiem or Marcos Giron. 

Thiem bettered Bublik at the US Open while Giron prevailed over the Halle champion at the Chengdu Open last week. 

Giron aims to oust a second consecutive Grand Slam winner after edging Stan Wawrinka in a three-tiebreak contest on Thursday. 

Thiem leads the American 2-0 in their head-to-heads, including a three-set win on indoor hard courts in Gijon last October.