Dutch tennis player Jesper de Jong has made a giant leap in the ATP rankings after reaching his career final in Bastad, jumping up to a career-high ranking of 83rd.
Prior to the Nordea Open in Sweden, De Jong was ranked 106th after a difficult grass season. After failing to reach the second round of his home tournament in ‘s-Hertogenbosch, De Jong was eliminated in the first round of the Halle tournament as a lucky loser.
After also failing to qualify for the Mallorca tournament, De Jong eliminated Christopher Eubanks from Wimbledon after a thrilling 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-7 (7), 6-3, 7-5 (3) marathon win in SW19.
In Bastad, De Jong dropped just one set as he beat WIlliam Rejchtman Vinciguerra, Vit Kopriva, Tallon Griekspoor, and Camilo Ugo Carabelli en route to the final, in which he lost 4-6, 6-3, 3-6 to Luciano Darderi.
Reaching the final of the gravel tournament in Bastad marked the first in the 25-year-old Dutchman’s career and has propelled De Jong from 106th to 83rd.
De Jong will continue his second gravel season in Croatia, where Mili Poljicak will be the first opponent at the Plava Laguna Croatia Open in Umag.
Griekspoor and Van de Zandschulp drop
Tallon Griekspoor, whom De Jong beat in the quarter-finals in Sweden, dropped two spots and now occupies the 29th spot in the ATP rankings.
Botic van de Zandschulp dropped three places to 103rd after failing to reach the quarter-finals in Bastad.
Tallon Griekspoor is now ranked 31stFlashscore