5 tennis players who have won an ATP title in their home country in 2022 ft. Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz
The 2022 tennis season has seen many talented youngsters rise to the challenge by winning big titles on the ATP tour. Some of these youngsters have won titles at their home ATP tournaments, lifting the trophies with their countrymen cheering them on.
Tim van Rijthoven is the latest player to join the club with his title victory at the Libema Open in 's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands. Van Rijthoven defeated the top three seeds in the tournament, including Daniil Medvedev in the final, to win his maiden ATP title.
In a year that has also seen teenage tennis sensation Carlos Alcaraz celebrate great success with his home fans, we take a look at five instances of players winning an ATP title in their respective countries.
1) Tim van Rijthoven - Libema Open
![Tim van Rijthoven at the 2022 Libema Open. [PC: Twitter/WeAreTennis]](https://staticg.sportskeeda.com/editor/2022/06/3c668-16551030081653-1920.jpg)
In what is being considered one of the most memorable campaigns this season, Dutch player Tim van Rijthoven won the Libema Open as a wildcard.
DREAMS DO COME TRUE 🏆
Dutch wildcard and World No. 205 @timvanrijthoven shocks World No.2 Medvedev 6-4 6-1 to claim his first ATP Title!
@libemaopen https://t.co/1fsuHS1fHN
The World No. 205 stunned Daniil Medvedev - who is the new World No. 1 - in straight sets to clinch his first-ever ATP title. What makes Van Rijthoven's achievement even more staggering is the fact that he had not won a single ATP match in his career before the 2022 Libema Open.
Top seed Medvedev was not the only top player the Dutchman defeated en route to the title. He also defeated second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in the semifinals (6-3, 1-6, 7-6) and third seed Taylor Fritz in the Round of 16 (6-7, 7-5, 6-4).
Van Rijthoven won the title with his fellow Dutchmen cheering him on and received a standing ovation as he sealed victory in the final.
World No. 205 Tim van Rijthoven completes a *perfect* week in 's-Hertogenbosch, where he defeated 3rd seed Taylor Fritz, 2nd seed Félix Auger-Aliassime & 1st seed Daniil Medvedev (soon to be World No. 1) 6-4, 6-1 to claim his maiden ATP title. Incredible! https://t.co/yFJgWk44d1
2) Carlos Alcaraz - Barcelona Open and Madrid Open
In his best season so far on the ATP tour, the newest tennis star Carlos Alcaraz has already wonfour4 titles, two of which have come in tournaments in his home country of Spain.
The first of those two titles came at the Barcelona Open, which has historically been dominated by another Spaniard in Rafael Nadal. Alcaraz entered the Barcelona Open on the back of a shocking first-round loss to Sebastian Korda in Monte Carlo. He needed a strong result in Barcelona to get his claycourt season up and running.
The 19-year-old, who was seeded 5th in the tournament, defeated three other seeded players, including top seed and Monte Carlo champion Stefanos Tsitsipas, to win the title. Alcaraz became the youngest player in 17 years to reach the ATP Top-10, courtesy of the win.
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Pablo Carreño Busta 6-3 6-2 to win the Barcelona Open 🇪🇸🏆
Just as Rafa did when he won in 05, Carlos will make his top-10 debut when the rankings are released 📈
This after saving 2 MPs in the longest match of the tournament's history this morning... 😅 https://t.co/Ybt0MlYyk7
He then translated his form into the Madrid Open to win back-to-back home ATP events. Alcaraz's performance in Madrid is considered his biggest achievement to date, as he defeated Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Alexander Zverev in consecutive matches en route to the title.
This Carlos Alcaraz thing is getting out of hand. He just won the Madrid open, beating Nadal, Djokovic, and Zverev along the way. He has won four titles this year. He has won seven straight matches against top-ten players. He is now ranked 6th in the world.
He is 19.
3) Taylor Fritz - Indian Wells Masters
Taylor Fritz's 2022 Indian Wells Tennis Masters title campaign is one of the biggest underdog stories of the season. The American, seeded 20th in his home Masters 1000 event, overcame two tough matches against Jaume Munar and Alex de Minaur to reach the quarterfinals. He then battled through another close match against Miomir Kecmanovic to make it through to the semifinals.
Fritz then stunned 7th-seeded Andrey Rublev in straight sets to set up a final against Rafael Nadal, who was on a 20-match winning streak. Before the final, there were doubts about the American's participation in the match due to an ankle injury. He played the match with some strapping around his ankle and used all the crowd support he got to record his first-ever win over Nadal.
It was his maiden Masters 1000 title, which he won just nine months after retiring from the 2021 French Open due to a horrible meniscus injury which required surgery.
4) Reilly Opelka - Dallas Open and ATP Houston
World No. 18 Reilly Opelka is another American to have won an ATP title at home this season. The 24-year-old has won two titles this season, both in tournaments in the US.
Opelka's first titles came at the Dallas Open in February, where he defeated Adrian Mannarino, fellow Americans John Isner and Jenson Brooksby en route to the title. Opelka and Isner played an incredible 46-point tie-break in the semifinals, the longest-ever in a men's singles match at the ATP level.
🆃🆂 🤖
🤖 🆂🅴🆁🆅🅴🅱🅾🆃🆂 🤖
60 aces have been shot during Opelka vs Isner semi-final in Dallas and it's finally Reilly who prevailed vs John 24-22 on tie-break! 🤯
(📸 @DALOpenTennis) https://t.co/JnvL2vM0LL
In April, Opelka won his second title of the season in Houston, where he defeated Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals and Isner in the finals. The Opelka-Isner match had history attached to it yet again, this time creating a record of being the 'tallest ATP final' in the Open Era of tennis.
In the tallest ever ATP final, 6'11, Reilly Opelka defeated 6'10, John Isner to lift the title on Houston. https://t.co/jVqHoVDGuE
5) Thanasi Kokkinakis - Adelaide International 2
Australian Thanasi Kokkinakis became the first ATP player this season to win a title in his home tournament. In the build-up to the Australian Open, Kokkinakis won the Adelaide International 2 to clinch his maiden ATP title.
The Aussie defeated Benoit Paire, John Isner, Marin Cilic, and Arthur Rinderknech in an impressive campaign.
"I feel like you guys should have half this trophy. Wouldn't want to win my first title anywhere else" - Adelaide-born Thanasi Kokkinakis to Adelaide crowd after his 1st ATP singles title and then to his team: "You guys have seen me at my lowest lows and now my highest highs" https://t.co/thLCtnIu7c
Kokkinakis won the title in the city of his birth. The 26-year-old has had a career plagued with injuries, but the 2022 season has been a breakthrough year for him in more ways than one.
After the victory in Adelaide, Kokkinakis teamed up with compatriot Nick Kyrgios to win the Australian Open doubles title, his maiden Grand Slam title.