Tallon Griekspoor, fresh off his first ATP Tour title win of the year in Brussels, made light work of American Brandon Nakashima in the first set. The Dutchman broke Nakashima in the opening game and continued his dominance on his serve, losing just six of 21 total points.
Nakashima, the world No. 17, somewhat came to life in the last two games, even reaching break point down 4-1, but conceded the game before fending off two set points for Griekspoor, who clinched the set on his third set point after 31 minutes.
In the second set, Nakashima turned the tables. The American vastly improved his service, which jumped from 39% of service points won in the first set to 76% in the second. Nakashima survived one break point and converted on one of his two in the second set, which he clinched after 41 minutes to force a third-set decider.
The last set was more of the same, with both players serving on their A-game; Nakashima didn't concede a return point until his third service game, while Griekspoor won 25 of 32 service points. Neither player found a way through their opponent's fierce serve, leaving the third set with zero break points and forcing a tiebreak.
Griekspoor opened the tiebreak with a missed shot on an early mini-break, but took his chance on the next point with a last-ditch passing shot. After keeping both his service points, Griekspoor dealt a second mini-break to go up 5-1. With four match points in hand, Griekspoor only needed one to finish Nakashima off in the longest rally of the match.
In the second round, Griekspoor will face Alexander Zverev in a rematch of their thrilling Canadian Open match in August.