Tallon Griekspoor delivered the biggest victory of his career by recording a 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4) win over top-seeded Alexander Zverev on Friday in the second round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
It marks the first time Griekspoor has ever notched a victory over a top-five player. Zverev is ranked second in the world and Griekspoor is No. 43.
Griekspoor, from the Netherlands, had a 39-32 edge in winners and overcame 53 unforced errors and nine double faults. Zverev of Germany committed 39 errors and converted just five of 14 break points.
It wasn’t easy for Griekspoor to finish off the upset in the match that took three hours and eight minutes.
Griekspoor overcame a 5-4 deficit in the third set to move ahead. Then it was his opportunity to serve out the match.
But he failed to convert a staggering five match points before Zverev forced the tiebreaker.
Zverev had a 3-2 lead in the tiebreaker and it was later tied at 4-4 before Griekspoor won the final three points to advance to the third round. He will face No. 29 seed Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France.
Griekspoor was thrilled with the upset as he had lost six of his previous seven matches against Zverev, including four in 2024 alone.
“I’ve played so many battles against him,” Griekspoor said on court after the victory. “I had chances in all of them and they all went his way. I’m incredibly proud of myself with this performance today and to finally get over the line.”
The matchup that stuck with Griekspoor most was letting a fifth-set lead get away in the third round of last year’s French Open and eventually losing in a tiebreaker.
“It was a mental thing,” the 28-year-old Griekspoor said. “An absolute heartbreak at Roland Garros when I was up a double break in the fifth.”
This was Griekspoor’s second big win this season. He beat top-seeded Daniil Medvedev, ranked sixth in the world, in the Dubai quarterfinals last month.
Another U.S. player, Marcos Giron, pulled off an upset, beating No. 4 seed Casper Ruud of Norway 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-2. Japanese qualifier Yosuke Watanuki advanced when No. 19 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic retired after winning the first set 6-4 and trailing 4-2 in the second set. Another seeded Czech player, No. 23 Jiri Lehecka, fell 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie.
Second-round winners included No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia, No. 8 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, No. 10 Tommy Paul of the United States, Holger Rune of Denmark, No. 15 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, No. 16 Frances Tiafoe of the United States, No. 18 Ugo Humbert of France, No. 20 Arthur Fils of France, No. 26 Alexei Popyrin of Australia, No. 28 Matteo Berrettini of Italy, No. 29 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France, No. 31 Alex Michelsen of the United States.
–Field Level Media
