Dirk van Duijvenbode suffered a surprising defeat against Brendan Dolan in the first round of the
World Grand Prix on Monday night. 'Aubergenius' started the match excellently, but after a convincing set win, he collapsed completely.
Van Duijvenbode struggled to find the double in and saw Dolan win 2-1 in sets. Speaking to Viaplay afterwards, he gave a remarkable explanation for his collapse.
"Something happened backstage," Van Duijvenbode responded to presenter Koert Westerman's question. "I had asked someone to arrange something and when I came back it had not been arranged."
Van Duijvenbode, a finalist at the World Grand Prix in 2020, did not want to elaborate further on the situation. "Then I lost my focus and I can't do that. I give it away completely after that."