Fresh off his first tournament win in two years, Griekspoor arrived at Wimbledon as the 31st-placed player and ready to face Eastbourne finalist Jenson Brooksby.
The Dutchman couldn't get off to a bright start as he struggled with his service game - Griekspoor only hit 55% of his service points on the first attempt and lost 10 of his 13 second service points. Brooksby defended magnificently in his own right, fending off all four of Griekspoor's break points and limiting his unforced errors to just five as he won the first set 6-2.
Frustration grew for Griekspoor throughout the first set. However, the Mallorca winner finally broke his American opponent at the start of the second set. The love game in Brooksby's second service game was soon overturned by the American, who saw his opponent score a first serve percentage of 43% and hit 17 unforced errors en route to a second consecutive dropped set.
Frustration grows
"What a joke, what a joke, what a joke," said a very frustrated Griekspoor after going down 2-0 in sets. The Dutchman, who reached the top 30 of the ATP for the first time since July 2024 after his Mallorca win, hit a combined eight double faults in his first two sets - Brooksby hit just two - and could not get through Brooksby's defence with just one break in the two opening sets.
Up 40-15 in Griekspoor's first service game of the third set, Brooksby was looking to ice the match as quickly as possible, but had to wait two games before hurting Griekspoor again with a break to go up 3-1 in games.
Griekspoor, who hit more winners than Brooksby but also over three times as many unforced errors midway through the third set, found himself down 4-1 after getting a warning for hitting a ball out of the Greater London area out of sheer frustration.
With the end near for the Dutchman, Griekspoor seemed to have no fight left in him as he kept hitting unforced errors, showed cynical smiles, and complained in the final set.
Brooksby couldn't pounce on the first five match points as he let Griekspoor hold on to his service game, but finished the job with a love game as he shocked Griekspoor with a straight-sets match win.
Tallon Griekspoor's dire relationship with the Wimbledon grass continues as the Dutchman couldn't add a third career win at the British Grand Slam. Griekspoor's 10 double faults, 42 unforced errors, and just one break weren't enough to beat the 101st-ranked Brooksby.
Meanwhile, Jenson Brooksby, who's looking to get back to a career-best 33rd spot in the ATP rankings after an injury-riddled 2024, is set to meet Brazilian phenom Joao Fonseca in the second round.
View all the match statistics on Flashscore.
