"He is a very strong opponent. I had never faced him, he is new to the circuit, he won his first ATP match last month at home (in 's-Hertogenbosch where he even won the tournament, editor's note), but he is very strong and it took me a little time to adjust to his game", commented the Serb, world N.3.
The latter had lost a set against the South Korean Soonwoo Kwon in the first round before sending his opponents in the second and third rounds.
He had set out to do the same on Sunday, but van Rijthoven, the recipient of an invitation and who made a name for himself by winning the 's-Hertogenbosch grass tournament in June with a victory in the final against the world No.1 Daniil Medvedev, hung on.
He broke the second set to lead 4-3 and saved four break points at 5-4 before pocketing the set on his third set point.
The record holder of past weeks in place of world No.1 (373) then made the powder speak in the next round, packed in 30 minutes having lost only three points on his face-off.
The Serb took van Rijthoven's serve early in the fourth set and held the advantage until the end.
© 2022 AFP