INDIAN WELLS, California, March 7 (Actonreviews) – Tallon Griekspoor stunned top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in a marathon second-round clash at Indian Wells on Friday.
The Dutchman collapsed in disbelief after converting his sixth match point, sealing an epic three-hour, seven-minute battle under the sunny skies on Stadium One court.
"I'm incredibly proud. It was such a mental battle to beat him," Griekspoor said, reflecting on his win over Zverev, who had dominated their previous matchups. "I beat him once but then lost the next six times, so it was really mental. I'm happy to finally get it out of the way."
Zverev had a chance to serve for the match in the second set, but Griekspoor fought back, edging him in the second-set tiebreak to force a deciding third set. Despite missing five match points when serving at 6-5 in the final set, Griekspoor regrouped and ultimately triumphed in the third-set tiebreak.
It was Griekspoor's first victory over a top-five opponent in 19 attempts.
"Finally," Griekspoor wrote on the TV camera lens, adding a smiley face after his hard-fought victory. He will next face big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the third round.
Zverev has struggled with form, sitting at a 4-4 record since his loss to world number one Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final in January.
"I'm just not playing good tennis at the moment. It's as simple as that," Zverev admitted to reporters. "I'm not playing at the level I want to, and definitely not close to what I played in Australia. I'm just disappointed with my game."
The world number two acknowledged that he would need to reassess his game. "Right now it's not clicking. I have to find a way to make that happen."
RUUD UPSET
Fourth seed Casper Ruud suffered a defeat at the hands of American Marcos Giron, losing 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2 in another major upset. Giron, ecstatic after the victory, jumped into the air as the crowd erupted, reaching the third round of the tournament for the second time.
"That was an amazing win. It will be one I look back on with amazing memories," Giron said. "To do it here at my favorite tournament is special. It was the tournament I came to when I was younger, and it was an amazing atmosphere."
Popular 10th seed Tommy Paul advanced easily past fellow American Tristan Boyer, winning 6-3, 6-1. Paul will face Britain's Cameron Norrie, who defeated 23rd seed Jiri Lehecka 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
Eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas fought through a tough match, ultimately prevailing 6-2, 6-4 over Thiago Seyboth Wild after failing to convert a match point while his opponent was down. Dane Holger Rune, seeded 12th, will meet 18th seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the third round after both secured straight-set victories.
Daniil Medvedev, the finalist at Indian Wells in the last two years, cruised to a quick victory against China's Yunchaokete Bu, winning in straight sets.
"6-2, 6-2, 1:36 minutes, very fast court," Medvedev wrote on the TV camera lens, commenting on the speed of the court despite resurfacing for this year's tournament.
On the Women’s Side
Iga Swiatek started her title defense with a dominant performance, thrashing Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-0. The Polish second seed will face Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, who stunned Ons Jabeur in straight sets earlier in the day.
Elena Rybakina, sharp in her first match at Indian Wells since her 2023 title win, defeated Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-3. The big-serving Rybakina, born in Russia but representing Kazakhstan, had missed last year’s tournament due to illness. She will face Britain’s Katie Boulter in the third round after Boulter beat Irina-Camelia Begu 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-0.
Fourth-seeded Jessica Pegula and 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva both advanced with straight-set victories under the lights. Earlier in the day, Ukraine’s 18th seed Marta Kostyuk and Czechs Karolina Muchova (15th seed) and Katerina Siniakova also moved on to the third round of the WTA 1000 event.