Quentin Halys rallies past qualifier Rottgering to reach Rotterdam second round
Quentin Halys overturned an uneven start to defeat qualifier Mees Rottgering 3-6, 6-1, 6-1 in 1 hour 52 minutes on Tuesday in Rotterdam, booking a place in the Round of 16. The world No. 77 recovered composure after a shaky opening set and played the cleaner tennis down the stretch to close out the victory.
Match recap: slow start, strong finish
Halys dropped the first set 6-3 after a sluggish start, giving the young left-hander from the qualifiers the early momentum. The Frenchman tightened his game in the second set, using deeper returns and more consistent serving to turn the match. Halys dominated from the baseline in sets two and three, surrendering just one game in each and shifting the match tempo to force errors from his opponent. The comeback was confirmed when Rottgering’s production fell off in the decider and Halys closed out the match with authority.
Odds and standing: pre-match expectations
Bookmakers made Halys the clear favorite going into the encounter, pricing him strongly ahead of the match with an implied win probability near 79%. Those odds matched the betting market’s view of Halys as the more experienced Tour player against an 18-year-old qualifier on his first big-court assignment at this level. The win preserves Halys’ status inside the top 100 and gives him a valuable hard-court performance at an ATP 500 event.
Next up: a stern test in Tallon Griekspoor
Halys will meet Tallon Griekspoor in the Round of 16, a matchup that promises a contrast of styles. Griekspoor was clinical in his opening match, striking a high number of winners while keeping unforced errors low and saving every break point he faced. That efficient baseline aggression will pose a significant challenge for Halys, who will need to maintain depth on his groundstrokes and stay aggressive on return games to create openings.
Broader French fortunes in Rotterdam
The early session offered mixed outcomes for the French contingent. While Halys advanced, Hugo Grenier exited after a lopsided loss to Jan-Lennard Struff, falling 6-0, 6-4 in just over an hour. Grenier, who made the main draw from qualifying, never found his range against the powerful German and will head home after a brief run. Another Frenchman also featured in the early slate but was outmuscled in his match, underscoring the depth of competition at this stage of the event.
What the win means for Halys and the tournament
Halys’ victory injects another experienced challenger into the mid-week draw and keeps alive his hopes of a deeper run at an ATP 500 stop. Beating a young qualifier who had momentum is often a different task to overcoming a seeded opponent, and Halys’ ability to reset after the first set will be a confidence boost heading into a tougher assignment. For the tournament, the match highlighted the balance between rising talent and seasoned pros, and sets up an intriguing next-round clash that could influence the bottom half of the draw.
Play continues through the week, with Halys’ second-round match scheduled on one of the indoor courts later in the session. Fans can expect a high-intensity duel when he meets Griekspoor for a spot in the quarterfinals.
