In a thrilling showdown at the Dubai Championships on Thursday, Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands overcame top-seeded Daniil Medvedev of Russia with a scoreline of 2-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 to secure a spot in the semifinals.
Griekspoor, currently ranked world No. 47, showcased remarkable resilience by saving four match points, especially during the second set. \"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,\" the Dutchman remarked. \"Sometimes you've got to be a little bit lucky.\"
The road to the semifinals was challenging for Griekspoor, who first faced Roman Safiullin from Russia, saving three match points in a gripping first-round match. He then advanced by defeating French defending champion Ugo Humbert on Wednesday. \"It's my best win by ranking,\" Griekspoor added. \"Just very pleased with this win. It means a lot.\"
In the upcoming semifinal, Griekspoor is set to face fourth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who triumphed over Matteo Berrettini of Italy with scores of 7-6(5), 1-6, 6-4. This will mark Tsitsipas' first ATP semifinal match of the year.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada defeated 2014 U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic of Croatia 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, setting up a semifinal clash with French qualifier Quentin Halys, who overcame Luca Nardi of Italy 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5).
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
