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- World No. 47 stuns tournament鈥檚 No. 1 seed to set up last-4 tie with No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who advanced to first semifinal in 7 months after seeing off Matteo Berrettini
- ATP鈥檚 most in-form player, Felix Auger-Aliassime, secures 15th win of the year against veteran Marin Cilic to secure semifinal berth alongside French qualifier Quentin Halys
DUBAI: In a stunning upset at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday, Tallon Griekspoor toppled top-seeded Daniil Medvedev to secure the most significant victory of his career and leave the defeated world No. 6 smashing his racquet in frustration.
Showing remarkable resilience, Griekspoor rallied from a set down to claim a dramatic 2-6, 7-6 (7), 7-5 win. The Dutchman saved four match points in the second set before closing out the match at the fourth opportunity to earn a place in the ATP 500 semifinals, where he will face No. 4 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Griekspoor鈥檚 path to the final four has been anything but easy. In the opening round, he survived three match points against qualifier Roman Safiullin, and in the second he took down defending champion Ugo Humbert of France.
Now, with Friday representing his eighth ATP Tour semifinal, the 28-year-old Griekspoor continues to prove his mettle against the sport鈥檚 elite. 鈥淚鈥檓 absolutely thrilled with this win,鈥� he said.
鈥淚 had to fight off a few match points in the second set 鈥� Daniil is an incredible player and competitor. He鈥檚 been at the top of the game for years, so this is a huge victory for me.鈥�
In a one-sided first set, Medvedev was quick to anticipate Griekspoor鈥檚 aggressive forays to the net, countering with precision and wrapping up the opening inside just 27 minutes. The Russian played near-flawless tennis, committing just one unforced error in open play and winning every point behind his first serve.
Yet Griekspoor refused to be discouraged. After surrendering an early break, the world No. 47 found his rhythm in the second set, sticking to his serve-and-volley strategy. Facing two match points at both 4-5 and 5-6 on his own serve, he forced a dramatic tiebreak that he ultimately won.
Buoyed by his resurgence 鈥� and later admitting to wondering how he was still in the tournament 鈥� Griekspoor carried his momentum into the decisive set, waiting patiently before seizing his opportunity in Medvedev鈥檚 final service game.
鈥�(Daniil) played unbelievably well in the first set,鈥� said Griekspoor. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 doing too much wrong, but he was just better. I just tried to hang in there, even after going a break down in the second.
鈥淥nce I broke back, I felt the momentum shift a little in my favor. I had some luck on the match points I saved and in the second-set tiebreak, and even when I had match points myself, it took a few tries to close it out.鈥�
Medvedev, who had been seeking a third successive Dubai semifinal, was asked what changed in the second set, responding: 鈥�(Tallon) started playing better in some moments. I do think in a way he got lucky with some shots, but that鈥檚 tennis.
鈥淲hen I say lucky, he also went for it, so he deserves it. It鈥檚 on his side this week, luck. Sometimes it happens: you go all the way like this 鈥� a little bit crazy. Let鈥檚 see where it brings him.鈥�
For now, it has brought him to the semifinal in Dubai and a tie with former world No. 3 Tsitsipas, after the Greece star outlasted Italy鈥檚 Matteo Berrettini to win 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-4, in a match that went on until after midnight.
The victory ensured a first semifinal appearance since July for Tsitsipas, a two-time Grand Slam finalist. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great feeling being back so deep in a tournament,鈥� he said.
鈥淚t brings a smile to my face to know I鈥檝e been playing good tennis to get to the semis of one of the biggest 500s. It was a difficult match, lots of ups and downs.
鈥淢y first set was a great effort to finish it off, but I didn鈥檛 really deliver in the second 鈥� it was pretty poor. I find it actually quite confusing how I managed to win in the end because it felt like I was going through some mental battle during the match.鈥�
In the other half of the draw, the in-form Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Croat Marin Cilic 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 to book a second semifinal appearance in the space of a week. The Canadian fought for 2 hours, 18 minutes before Cilic, facing match point on serve, sent a forehand wide.
The former world No. 6 fired a total of 13 aces and broke the Croat three times to reach his fourth semifinal of 2025. 鈥淚t鈥檚 been a great start,鈥� said Auger-Aliassime of his Tour-leading 15 wins this season.
鈥淥f course there鈥檚 the work, but then there鈥檚 also just seizing opportunities. Sometimes you have to be fortunate.鈥�
He added: 鈥淭his week, I won three three-set matches that went back and forth. Now the level is so high everywhere, the margins are really small, but I鈥檓 glad that it went my way and another semifinal, it鈥檚 great.鈥�
The Canadian will face Quentin Halys on Friday after the French qualifier reached his first ATP 500 semifinal by fighting back from a set down to beat Lucky Loser Luca Nardi 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). Halys had earlier this week stunned third seed Andrey Rublev, who won in Dubai in 2022.
鈥淭he end was crazy,鈥� Halys said. 鈥淲e were missing some easy shots and playing some crazy rallies 鈥� I鈥檓 super happy about the win and how I handled the end of the match.
鈥淚鈥檓 coming from the qualifiers; I didn鈥檛 have many matches before this tournament. The way I鈥檓 playing this week is crazy good.鈥�