Tallon Griekspoor pulled off a stunning upset at the Canadian Open 2026, battling back from a set down to defeat top seed Alexander Zverev 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-4 in the second round in Montreal on Wednesday. The Dutchman, ranked No. 69 in the world, entered the contest having won just one of his previous eight tour-level matches, but produced one of the biggest wins of his career against the world No. 2.
For Zverev, the defeat marked a disappointing return to action after his run to the Wimbledon final, where he lost to Italy’s Jannik Sinner. Griekspoor, meanwhile, claimed only the third top-five victory of his career and his second win over Zverev, providing a much-needed boost after a difficult season.
“This is one of the most special (wins) I have had,” Griekspoor said in his on-court interview. “I have had a very tough season, which is not easy. I have been very close to throwing the towel a couple of times. But I have been working harder and harder lately and reached quite a good level in training in the past couple of weeks. I felt like it was just a matter of time. This one is special.”
ZVEREV TOMBE D’ENTRÉE À MONTRÉAL 🚨
Tallon Griekspoor s’offre la tête de série n°1 Alexander Zverev en trois sets et se qualifie pour le troisième tour au Masters 1000 de Montréal. 🔥🇳🇱
Le Néerlandais décroche sa troisième victoire face au TOP 5, la deuxième contre Zverev. 💥 pic.twitter.com/n0Xxul81e5
— Univers Tennis 🎾 (@UniversTennis) August 5, 2026
The Dutch competitor won the match behind a strong showing at the net (won 17 of 18 net points) and by being opportunistic on Zverev’s second serve, with him winning just 12 of 29 second-serve points (41.4%). Griekspoor faced just one break point while Zverev faced nine, saving five of them.
Zverev was far from the only seeded competitor to lose on Wednesday. The top side of the bracket in particular was scattered with upsets, with No. 7 Taylor Fritz losing his first match since winning the Mubadala DC Open title on Monday, falling 7-5, 6-3 to Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante.
“I think today I played a really good level to beat Taylor in my first match against him,” Tirante said. “I think I enjoyed the moment and I will keep improving. I did not have the good sensation yesterday but today was another moment and I think I did a really good match today.”
Russian Trio OutÂ
A trio of seeded Russians in No. 4 Daniil Medvedev, No. 10 Andrey Rublev and No. 21 Karen Khachanov were all ousted on Wednesday. So were No. 6 Flavio Cobolli of Italy, No. 14 Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, Argentine seeds Francisco Cerundolo (No. 16) and Tomas Martin Etcheverry (No. 26), No. 24 Ugo Humbert of France, No. 25 Chilean Alejandro Tabilo, No. 29 Ignacio Buse of Peru and No. 32 Belgian Raphael Collignon.
Felix Auger-Aliassime InjuredÂ
Second-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime was forced to withdraw ahead of his opening match due to a back injury. His replacement in the draw, Portugal’s Jaime Faria, lost 7-6 (2), 6-2 to France’s Titouan Droguet.
No. 3 seed Alex de Minaur had no similar trouble, sweeping fellow Aussie James Duckworth 6-2, 7-6 (6) to set up a match with Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who knocked off Buse.
No. 5 Ben Shelton, the defending champion in Montreal, began his defense with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat of fellow American Jenson Brooksby. No. 9 Casper Ruud of Norway easily disposed of Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo with a 6-1, 6-2 win.
In late-night action, a pair of seeded Americans advanced with wins over French opponents. No. 12 Learner Tien outlasted Gael Monfils 6-3, 0-6, 6-3, and No. 17 Tommy Paul downed Valentin Royer 6-4, 7-6 (5).
(With inputs from Reuters)
