In a thrilling match at the Dubai Championships, Tallon Griekspoor managed to save four match points and claimed victory over top-seeded Daniil Medvedev with scores of 2-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 on Thursday. Griekspoor, ranked 47th in the world, expressed disbelief and excitement after the win, saying, “When I won the second set, I was actually thinking ‘how am I even still in this tournament?’ I probably should have been on the plane to Indian Wells already. Sometimes you’ve got to be a little bit lucky.”
Earlier in the tournament, Griekspoor managed to escape a tight first-round match against Roman Safiullin by saving three match points. Following this, he ousted the defending champion Ugo Humbert.
Griekspoor’s victory over Medvedev, ranked No. 6, was a significant achievement for him. “It’s my best win by ranking. Just very pleased with this win. It means a lot,” Griekspoor stated after the quarterfinal match.
He is now set to face the fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas for a chance to advance to the final. In his own quarterfinal, Tsitsipas overcame Matteo Berrettini with scores of 7-6 (5), 1-6, 6-4.
In other matches, Felix Auger-Aliassime triumphed over the 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic, winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-2. This victory sets up Auger-Aliassime to face Quentin Halys in the semifinal. Halys progressed to the semifinal after defeating Luca Nardi with scores of 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5).
