Challenger ‘pass’ earns Bonzi, Griekspoor Pune ATP final ticket

Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor and France’s Benjamin Bonzi, the 2023 ATP Tata Open Maharashtra’s singles finalists, have a lot in common. They’re both 26, climbed to a career-high ranking of 44 last year, are playing for the first time at Pune’s ATP 250 event and in their maiden ATP final on Saturday.

Here’s where the overlap gets more interesting. Bonzi had won six titles on the ATP Challenger circuit in 2021. Only one man had more that season—Griekspoor (a record eight).

“It’s funny I’m playing against Tallon, he beat me on that Challenger year. It was crazy,” Bonzi said.

Crazy, but also a culmination of the consistency at the Challenger level—a rung below the ATP tour—that has landed them both on the cusp of a maiden ATP title. Griekspoor, the world No 95, swatted aside 8th seed Aslan Karatsev 7-6(4), 6-1 in the semi-final on Friday before the 60th-ranked Bonzi battled past second seed and world No 35 Botic van de Zandschulp 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-1.

It’s no coincidence that both will have a crack at the biggest title of their respective careers a little over 12 months after their launchpad runs in 2021. Griekspoor scripted a single-season record for most Challenger titles that year, finishing up with eight final triumphs, 25 consecutive wins and an overall 42-7 win-loss record. Bonzi had two titles fewer but eight more match wins that season and, along with Griekspoor, broke into the world’s top-50 in 2022.

“Playing a bunch of matches at the Challengers, having that great run, it gives you some kind of belief that you can do the same even at the ATP,” Griekspoor said. “Because the difference in level is not that big. If you can do well at the Challengers, you can do well at the ATP too.”

Like Griekspoor has done in the season-opening event, and in his semi-final a day after Marin Cilic gave him walkover. After ekeing out the first set in a tiebreaker, Gierkspoor was helped by the unravelling of Karatsev in the second. The 59th-ranked Russian, armed with the most aces this week, dished out three double faults in the second game to be broken in the serve and the mind, as his racquet-smashing act soon after reflected.

Gierkspoor kept it solid from his end, also mixing it up with the backhand slices and heavy forehand spins to “give him some different heights of the ball”. Pulling off return winners off first serves now, the Dutchman fittingly finished the second-set drubbing with his 11th ace.

Bonzi had 10 of them against van de Zandschulp, among the best returners this tournament. The Frenchman was pulled back and into a tiebreaker by the 35th-ranked Dutchman in the first two sets after getting early breaks in both. With the 2021 US Open quarter-finalist struggling a bit physically in the third set, Bonzi ensured his early edge—he also got the double break this time—reached its logical end.

Bonzi has also taken down 3rd seed Emil Ruusuvuori and 6th seed Filip Krajinovic along the way in Pune. These big wins at the higher level, he reckoned, wouldn’t have been possible without that constant grind on the Challenger tour two years ago.

“It’s tough, but you have to go through this if you want to be in the top 100, if you want to be able to play bigger tournaments,” he said. “That’s the pass to go to the high level.”

The pass that has now earned him, and Gierkspoor, their first ticket to an ATP final.