Third seed Tallon Griekspoor will face Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori in the second round of the 2023 Stockholm Open. The match will be played on Wednesday, October 18, 2023.
Tallon Griekspoor will look to return to winning ways when he faces a familiar rival in Emil Ruusuvuori. They have played three times at all levels, and it is the Dutchman who has emerged the winner each time. But Griekspoor looks resigned for whatever is left this season and it is hard to fault him. Griekspoor’s season started right in the opening week of the 2023 tennis calendar where he would reach his first ATP final in Pune and walk away with the crown. He would add a second title to his trophy cabinet in the summer, where he won the Rosmalen Championships on home soil. However, he blinked in his third final, where an inspired Dan Evans ran roughshod over the field including Griekspoor.
Unlike the third-seeded Griekspoor who had a bye in the first round of the Stockholm Open, Emil Ruusuuvori needed to win his opening match against Lebanon’s Benjamin Hassan. The Finnish power hitter needed just 58 minutes to wrap up a comprehensive 6-2, 6-1 win, recording 77% first-serve points and did not face a single break point in the match. That was his first match in precisely a month having battled an injury before coming to Sweden.
Emil Ruusuvuori has recovered from his recent injury, but it appears Tallon Griekspoor could be the one dealing with physical issues coming to the Stockholm Open. The Dutchman retired from his most recent tournament in Shanghai while trailing Dusan Lajovic 4-6, 2-3. Since his runner-up finish in Washington, Griekspoor has scored a paltry two wins in eight matches. Even with Ruusuvori not coming close to solving the puzzle in the series (lost all three head-to-head meetings), we cannot ignore the formbook and nature of Griekspoor’s undisclosed injury. The shrewd move is to back the Finn to win this outright at -143.