Tallon Griekspoor came back from four match points down to defeat Daniil Medvedev 2-6, 7-6(7), 7-5 in the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships on Thursday evening.
Unsurprisingly, Medvedev was fuming after he let the second set slip away.
During an argument with chair umpire Adel Nour in between sets, the sixth-ranked Russian was hit with a code violation for unsportsmanlike conduct. That sent Medvedev into even more of a rage, during which he asked Nour, “What is this, (a) double standard against Russians?”
Griekspoor ended up prevailing in two hours and 36 minutes.
“I’m super happy with this win,” the 47th-ranked Dutchman assured. “I had to fight off a couple of match points in the second set…. Daniil is an unbelievable player, an unbelievable competitor. He’s been at the top of the rankings for so many years, so I’m very pleased with this win.
“I thought he played so well in the first set. I didn’t do badly; he was just too good. I just tried to stay tough with it, even though I went a break down in the second. When I broke him back, I felt like the momentum went a little bit my way. I was a little bit lucky on the match points down, and in the second-set tiebreak. I even needed a few match points myself to finish this one off.”
Griekspoor awaits either Stefanos Tsitsipas or Matteo Berrettini. The other semifinal pits Felix Auger-Aliassime against Quentin Halys.
awesome match