Tallon Griekspoor produced one of the biggest upsets of the National Bank Open in Montreal, fighting back from a set down to defeat world No. 2 Alexander Zverev 6-7(3), 6-2, 6-4.
The victory marked a remarkable turnaround for the world No. 69 Dutchman, who arrived in Canada having won just one of his previous eight tour-level matches. After opening his campaign with a win over Lorenzo Sonego, Griekspoor delivered the biggest performance of his season to knock out the top seed.
For Griekspoor, the victory was especially meaningful after a difficult season in which he admitted he had come close to giving up on several occasions. His win over one of the world's leading players provided a major reward for the hard work he and his team had continued to put in despite his poor results.
Griekspoor played aggressively from the start and made the most of his opportunities at the net, winning 17 of 18 points when moving forward. He also produced 20 forehand winners as he consistently looked to put Zverev under pressure.
The match lasted two hours and 33 minutes and went down to a tense deciding set. Griekspoor appeared to be in control after moving 4-2 ahead, but Zverev fought back to level the set at 4-4.
The Dutchman refused to let the momentum shift completely, however. He broke Zverev's serve again and held his nerve to close out the biggest win of his season on his first match point.
For Zverev, the defeat is a disappointing start to his return to competition following his run to the Wimbledon final. As the tournament's top seed, his early exit leaves the Montreal draw wide open.
Zverev is also the latest major name to fall in a tournament that has already produced a string of surprises. Five of the top 10 seeds have now been eliminated, including Flavio Cobolli, Taylor Fritz and Andrey Rublev, while local favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime was forced to withdraw because of a back injury.
The unexpected exits have created a major opening for the remaining players, with Griekspoor now among those looking to take advantage. He will next face either Matteo Arnaldi or Fabian Marozsan as he bids to continue what has quickly become an unlikely Montreal breakthrough.
