Wild card has dream chance vs. Djokovic
WIMBLEDON, England — It is, to be sure, the stuff of movies: An oft-injured player ranked outside the top 100 in the world in men’s tennis, making his Grand Slam debut thanks to a wild card, knocks out two seeded players on his way to a fourth-round matchup at Wimbledon against none other than No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic, the threetime reigning champion.
We can guess what Hollywood might do with that script. Tim van Rijthoven, a 25-yearold from the Netherlands, earned the chance to see what will happen in real life across the net from Djokovic after both men won in straight sets Friday at the All England Club.
“Before the tournament started, it was a dream for me to play him, basically. So to be able to have that chance, and to maybe even play on Centre Court or Court 1, is beautiful and magical,” van Rijthoven said after beating No. 22 Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Court 12, with its capacity of 1,736, to become the first wild-card entry since 2015 to get to the round of 16 at the grass court major tournament.
“I go into every match thinking I can win the match,” added van Rijthoven, whose baseline-based style eliminated No. 15 Reilly Opelka earlier in the week. “Also, against Djokovic, I’ll go into that match thinking I can win that match.”
Actually, until June, the Dutchman who sports a backward ballcap on court never had won a match on the ATP Tour. Since then he hasn’t lost one, going 8-0, including a victory over top-ranked Daniil Medvedev to win the trophy at a grasscourt event in van Rijthoven’s own country.
“It’s been a long one. I’ve had my