ATP Queen's Club: Ryan Peniston in the footsteps of Tim van Rijthoven?
Ryan Peniston surprisingly reached the quarterfinals at the ATP Tour 500 tournament in London's Queen's Club. There are certainly parallels with the champion of 's-Hertogenbosch, Tim van Rijthoven .
by tennisnet.com
last edit: Jun 16, 2022, 10:24 pm
A quick step on the brakes on euphoria: Neither Casper Ruud nor Francisco Cerundolo can pass as proven turf experts. It was not completely unthinkable that Ryan Peniston, who came into the 32-card grid in London's Queen's Club with a wildcard, could prevail in these two games. On the other hand, didn't Ruud just play the final in Roland Garros? Didn't Cerundolo put on a remarkable run in Miami? And aren't all the rubbers slowly adjusting anyway?
Peniston, 26 years old and still number 160 on the ATP charts, will not think about these questions any further. Reaching the quarter-finals at the ATP Tour 500 event in London's Queen's Club is by far his best result on the ATP Tour, and the Briton usually hangs around at challenger level. There were also two quarter-finals on grass recently, first in Surbiton (loss to Otto Virtannen) and in Nottingham, where Peniston lost to Alexei Popyrin.
Cilic against Berrettini as a safe bet
That's something of Tim van Rijthoven, who sensationally won the title as a local hero at the ATP Tour 250 tournament in 's-Hertogenbosch last week. Both no longer quite young, both went into the competition without expectations and pressure, both probably underestimated by their respective opponents. On the other hand, van Rijthoven courageously grabbed the perhaps unique opportunity on Sunday - and dismantled Daniil Medvedev in two smooth sentences.
Can Ryan Peniston do it too? Anyone who appreciates a safe bet will probably predict an endgame between Marin Cilic, a proven Queen's specialist, and Matteo Berrettini. And the next hurdle will probably be too high for Peniston - it's against Filip Krajinovic. But that's what you thought last week at Tim van Rijthoven in 's-Hertogenbosch.
Peniston had to learn very early that there are more important things than sport: At the age of one, a cancer tumor had to be removed, as he told the ATP Tour website. Although he can no longer remember, over the past few years he has repeatedly asked his parents to tell him about this difficult time for everyone. "I think it would be great if every other kid or family that's going through something like this could take a glimmer of hope from seeing what's possible."