Van Rijthoven, in the case of Verkerk, the surprise guest at the Ferrero party in Paris

This Sunday’s star in the world of tennis is Tim Van Rijthoven. The Dutchman was declared champion of the Hertogenbosch tournament after beating Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-1 in just 65 minutes, leading the dream week for a player who has not yet passed the qualifying round on the ATP circuit.

A surprise reminiscent of one of his compatriots: Martin Verkerk, who on June 8, 2003 played in the Roland Garros grand final against Juan Carlos Ferrero.

The Valencia tennis player thus removed the thorn from last year, when he unexpectedly lost in the final against Albert Costa. Many surely remember that moment, though little should be remembered of that giant who was nearly six feet[2 m]endowed with excellent service coming from surprising locals and strangers with fantastic competition.

He stood in the final after defeating Zeljko Krajan, Luis Horna, Vincent Spadea, Rainer Schuettler, Carlos Moyàwhich he defeated in the quarterfinals in a painful fifth set (6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 5-7, 8-6) and Guillermo Coria, who next year will remain on the brink of the title.

The party has no history. Ferrero imposed its tremendous efficiency from the first moment against a Verkerk who accused his lack of experience.. Ultimately, 6-1, 6-3, 6-2 in just two hours of play in one of the less exciting finals in recent years.

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But who is Martin Verkerk? what did he do up to that point? Well, very little, really. In fact, he arrived in Paris as number 46 in the world and has a single title on his record, achieved in the same year 2003 in Milan.

The quarterfinals in Rome (including the win against Roddick) two weeks before Roland Garros were also noteworthy, as he had just finished touring the clay court. after losing in the first round to Estoril, Montecarlo, Barcelona and Munich.

After Roland Garros, many expectations were created around the Dutchman. He is young (24 years old) and has a strong service that has made him one of the surprise candidates also on the Wimbledon grass. But things did not go well. An 18-year-old Swedish boy named Robin Soderling left him in the gutter in the first round (6-3, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1), in a defeat that left him in touch.

Since then, except for the title he has won at the Hilversun ChallengerVerkerk did not chain two straight wins for the rest of the season, which he closed off losing to Federer at Paris-Bercy.

The 2004 season started in the top 20, and not all was bad, even until July. He won the Amersfoort tournament in the Netherlands, reached the final in Munich and the semifinals in Sydney, but failed in all major tournaments. Defeated by Álex Corretja in the first round of the Australian Open, by Lleyton Hewitt in the third at Roland Garros and by Mark Philippoussis in the second at Wimbledon, Verkerk has yet to find a place in the tennis elite. He still lacks to make the final jump that will allow him to settle in the Top 10.

The drama of injuries

By the end of July of that year, Martin’s trial began. Ankle problems and mononucleosis forced him to stay away from the slopes for nearly two years.. He returned to competition in March 2006, but only played two games that year. He retired at Challenger Napoles against Italian Cipolla and lost to Moroccan El Aynaoui in Tarragona. In 2007 he played ATP tournaments again, but the balance was dark. Nine defeats in nine games made it very clear that he would never shrug the shoulders of the best.

In 2008 he tried again, but despite winning several ITF tournaments, he did not add any wins in the three ATP tournaments he played (Poertschach, Hertogenbosch and Amersfoort). The last match of his career was in September, when he lost in the first round of the Tarragona Challenger tournament before Marc Fornell-Mestres.

At the end of the year, he announced his definite departure from the tracks. “I no longer believe I can return to my best level”Martin told the Dutch network NOS. A sad ending for a giant with ankle mud.