INDIAN WELLS: Tallon Griekspoor stunned top-seeded Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) in the second round at Indian Wells on Friday, avenging a devastating loss to the German at Roland Garros last year.

Zverev, the world number two who is heading the field of the prestigious ATP Masters event with No. 1 Jannik Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban, is the first Indian Wells men’s top seed to lose his opening match since Andy Murray in 2017.

The defeat in a tension-packed Stadium Court clash continued a lackluster run for Zverev since he fell to Sinner in the Australian Open final.

Since then the German had made early exits at Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro and Acapulco.

Broken to trail 5-6 in the third set, Zverev saved five match points in a dramatic 12th game, finally converting his fifth break point of the game to force the tiebreaker.

But Griekspoor sealed it on first chance in the decider, and the Dutch player was delighted to get it over the line against a player who had won their last five encounters, including four last year.

“It was such a mental thing,” Griekspoor said, calling his loss to Zverev at Roland Garros last year — where he was up a double break in the fifth set — “absolute heartbreak”.

“I played so many battles against him and had chances but they all went his way,” said Griekspoor, who claimed his first victory over a top-five player in his 19th attempt.

The see-saw battle saw Zverev rally from 2-5 down in the second set to take a 6-5 lead, but he was broken as he served for the match and Griekspoor made the most of a string of Zverev errors in the tiebreaker to pull level.

“I’m just not playing good tennis at the moment. It’s as simple as that,” Zverev told reporters.

“I’m not playing a level that I want to play, definitely not playing anywhere near what I played in Australia. I’m just disappointed with my game.”

Griekspoor next faces France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, the 29th seed who was leading 6-4 when Hungarian Fabien Marozsan retired from their second-round match.

In Friday’s later matches, fourth seed Casper Ruud fell to American Marcos Giron 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2 in the other big upset of the day.

Giron was ecstatic after shocking the Norwegian, leaping into the air and shouting as the crowd erupted after he reached the third round of the tournament for a second time.

Meanwhile, popular 10th seed Tommy Paul eased past fellow American Tristan Boyer 6-3, 6-1 in front of a packed stands on court three and will face Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who defeated 23rd seed Jiri Lehecka 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.

Eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas failed to convert his first match point while his opponent was down on the court but ultimately prevailed 6-2, 6-4 over Thiago Seyboth Wild.

Dane Holger Rune, seeded 12th, will face 18th seeded Frenchman Ugo Humbert in the third round after they both enjoyed straight-sets victories on Friday.

Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, the finalist in Indian Wells the last two years, made quick work of China’s Yunchaokete Bu with a straight sets win.

“6-2, 6-2, 1:36 minutes, very fast court,” Medvedev wrote on the TV camera lens in reference to his ongoing complaints that the hard courts at Indian Wells are too slow even after they were resurfaced for this year’s competition.

On the women’s side, Iga Swiatek got her title defense off to a hot start in the desert, dominating Frenchwoman Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-0.

The Polish second seed will next face Ukrainian Dayana Yastremska, who upset Tunisian Ons Jabeur in straight sets earlier in the day.

Elena Rybakina was sharp in her first match at Indian Wells since winning the title in 2023, taking out Suzan Lamens of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-3.

Rybakina, seeded seventh, will face Britain’s Katie Boulter in the third round after the 25th seed beat Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-0.

Fourth seeded American Jessica Pegula and 17-year-old Russian Mirra Andreeva both advanced in straight sets wins under the lights.

Earlier in the day Ukraine’s 18th seed Marta Kostyuk and a pair of Czechs — 15th seed Karolina Muchova and Katerina Siniakova — also advanced to the third round of the WTA 1000 event.

Published in Dawn, March 9th, 2025