Griekspoor ambushes Zverev in Indian Wells upset

Tallon Griekspoor needed six match points and more than three hours on Friday to notch the first top five win of his career as he toppled Indian Wells Masters top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4).

The win into the third round of the hardcourt test in the desert did not lack for drama in the closing stages as the 43rd-ranked Dutchman turned the tide in his series with the German.

He had lost all 18 previous matches against top five opponents before stunning Zverev.

Griekspoor had dropped five in a row against  Zverev, standing 1-6 in the series. He was the first from his nation to earn a top seeding here since Boris Becker in 1990.

Griekspoor was thwarted on five match points in a dramatic 12th game of the deciding set, with Zverev saving them all to force a tiebreaker.

The Dutch challenger who a week ago played a Dubai semi-final against Stefanos Tsitsipas, volleyed into the net to drop that marathon game, setting up a 6-6 deadlock.

He led 2-0 in the third set tiebreaker and finally settled the match with a deep volley to the corner on a sixth match point which Zverev returned long.

“It was such a mental test,” the winner said after advancing with 39 winners and 53 unforced errors.

“I’ve lost my last five against him, including at Roland Garros where I was up a double break in the fifth.

“I’m incredibly proud of myself at finally getting over the line. I had some ankle problems after my first match here – I didn’t know how I’d be today.”

The winner said that his strategy was to go for everything in pursuit of he upset.

“I’ve made some changes to my team (new coach). I decided just to go for everything. That’s what I did on the first few match points.

“If I was gonna lose at least I would have tried. I’m very happy it went my way today.”

Australian Open runner-up Zverev had no excuse for his loss. 

“At the end of the day I’m just not playing good tennis at the moment. It’s as simple as that,

“I’m not playing a level that I want to play, definitely not playing anywhere near what I played in Australia. 

“This is the end result of, I don’t know, maybe Australian Open. But I’m just disappointed with my game. That’s No. 1 thing for me.”

Main photo:- Tallon Griekspoor celebrates on his 6th matchpoint win over Zverev – ATPTour.com