Dutch delight at the NBO as Griekspoor and van de Zandschulp rally

Tallon Griekspoor and Botic van de Zandschulp edged three-setters in the third round to follow up wins over behemoths Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev, respectively. 

The pair of 30-year-olds knocked off two players who might not be Grand Slam winners but are Grand Slam semifinalists, Matteo Arnaldi and Hubert Hurkacz. 

READ: Ben Shelton keeps winning at the NBO

Not since Robin Haase in 2018 had a Dutchman reached the fourth round at the NBO. Now they have two. 

Griekspoor entered Montreal, admittedly, suffering from a lack of confidence, losing four straight. He had only won three straight matches once this year, in Dubai, but even that turned out to be bittersweet, since he had to pull out of the final — against Medvedev — with a hamstring injury that also forced him to miss the Sunshine Double. 

His ranking sits at No. 69, way down from a career-high of No. 21 in 2023. 

In a bid to resurrect his game, Griekspoor recently started working with Thomas Hogstedt, the Swede who formerly guided the likes of stalwarts Maria Sharapova, Li Na and Madison Keys. 

“I haven't won many matches in the last four or five months,” he said. “Has been some tough times.”

“Been putting my head down, working hard the last couple of months, and yeah, the level has been there in practice over the last months, and it's been better and better. It was just about time, basically, to transfer it to the match court, which I'm happy I am doing this week.”

The big server’s 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win marked a second consecutive comeback from a set down — after not achieving the feat at all in 2026 before the NBO. 

He overcame a back injury that necessitated a medical timeout, too. 

“I'm very proud, especially after the last month that I've had,” said Griekspoor. “Now I got another day off to go back to the practice court, try to do things better and come out in good shape on Sunday.”

Van de Zandschulp makes great escape 

Van de Zandschulp defeated 2022 Montreal finalist Hubert Hurkacz, 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 at Rogers Court. 

The Pole hasn’t been the same since sustaining a knee injury in 2024 but the match was on his racquet in an eventful 5-4 game in the second set. 

Hurkacz created two straight match points on his own (habitually devastating) serve but missed a backhand slice wide, then double faulted. 

At deuce, van de Zandschulp might have hit the shot of the year. Inadvertently floored by a fierce Hurkacz smash, he somehow managed to get his racquet to the ball — and produce a winner. 

“I had no clue the ball was in,” said van de Zandschulp, arguably one of tennis’ finest movers. “He hit it so hard at me, with the smash, fell down, don’t know the way I hit it, where it landed but somehow I saw advantage my name so that was a good thing. That was quite an important shot, actually.”

It sure was. 

After cruising through most of his service games in the opening two sets, Hurkacz was forced to hang on for much of the third. 

Van de Zandschulp pulled off another great shot serving to stay in it, though, at 4-5, 30-all, readjusting at the net off a net cord. 

A net cord went his way in the next game en route to the lone break of the decider. 

Hurkacz’s double faults starting in the second set — he hit 10 overall — gave van de Zandschulp hope. 

“I started to play better and better and started believing more and more,” said van de Zandschulp, ranked only one spot behind Griekspoor at 70th. “I thought in the third set, I had more chances than he had so I’m happy I took one of them.” 

His win over Medvedev added to his giant slayer reputation. Van de Zandschulp had already beaten Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in his career. 

Griekspoor plays rising star Daniel Merida of Spain in the fourth round, with van de Zandschulp landing either Masters 1000 winner Jakub Mensik or French lefty Terence Atmane.