After fighting through a tough semifinal, Tallon Griekspoor knew he was in trouble. The Dutchman injured his left hamstring during his 7-5, 7-6 (6) win over Andrey Rublev on Friday and later admitted he would have retired if he had lost the second set. Despite pushing through to reach the final, the worst fears were confirmed. On Saturday, tournament officials announced he had been “deemed unfit to play” following a medical assessment, forcing him to withdraw from the ATP 500 Dubai final against Daniil Medvedev.

A few hours after the final result was declared, Tennis Channel posted on X that Griekspoor had opened up about the painful decision. During his courtside interview, he was asked about the time between the semifinal and his withdrawal, and how he ultimately came to that call. That’s when he explained he had gone to see the doctor and medical team to better understand the extent of the injury.

“Well, I had a lot of time with the physiotherapist and the doctor last night, which actually was surprisingly good, and I thought it was not too bad. Maybe also a little bit of adrenaline and some painkillers were in there. So, I did everything good last night, had a good night of sleep,” Griekspoor shared.

But by the next day, he realized things weren’t improving the way he had hoped.

“Woke up this morning and wasn’t feeling great, which I kind of expected,” he said.

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After heading to the hospital for scans, doctors confirmed he had a tear in his hamstring, an injury he said happened at 5-0 in the first set of his semifinal. With that news, he had no choice but to pull out of the final and the upcoming weeks.

“It’s a bummer, but it is what it is,” he added, promising to focus on recovery and getting back on court as soon as possible.

What made it even tougher was how strong his week had been. Entering the tournament unseeded, Griekspoor started by defeating Otto Virtanen 6-3, 6-4 in the Round of 32. He then pulled off one of the biggest upsets of the week, taking down second seed Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-6(4) to reach the quarterfinals.

In the last eight, he faced rising Czech talent Jakub Menšík, who had recently beaten Jannik Sinner in Doha on February 19. But Menšík couldn’t repeat that performance in Dubai. Griekspoor battled through a tough three-set match, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 to move into the semifinals.

That set up a clash with fifth seed Andrey Rublev on Centre Court. It was during that match that the hamstring injury struck, forcing Tallon Griekspoor to withdraw not only from the final but also from the Sunshine Double events at Indian Wells and Miami.

Interestingly, after the semifinal, he had written “keep trying” on the camera lens, a message he later explained during his interview.

“I actually wrote down keep trying. So, it was keep trying, like no matter how I feel, what happens during a match, just try to keep trying. Try to give yourself a shot of winning,” the 29-year-old said. “I think I did that extremely well last night. Too bad I couldn’t go out there today and give myself a chance,” he said.

Ultimately, he was happy with the level he displayed, and now his focus is fully on recovery.

His withdrawal ultimately handed a walkover victory to Daniil Medvedev, who openly admitted he didn’t enjoy winning a title that way.

Daniil Medvedev reacts to unusual win over Tallon Griekspoor

This marked the first time Daniil Medvedev has won the same tournament twice. He previously lifted the Dubai trophy in 2023, but his other 22 career titles came at different events. During his courtside interview, the interviewer pointed out that it wasn’t the way anyone wants to win a final, especially after playing so well all week and missing out on that last match.

Medvedev agreed.

“Yeah, of course, it’s a bizarre feeling,” he said.

He explained that he noticed Tallon Griekspoor struggling with his leg during the semifinal, so he wasn’t sure what would happen the next day. Still, he prepared as usual.

“Feels strange to not have the final, but it is what it is,” he added, while wishing Griekspoor a speedy recovery.

The interviewer also reminded him that he had joked about this being the first time he had ever won the same tournament twice. Medvedev smiled at the irony.

“Yeah, I guess that’s what’s crazy about it. I never did twice in any city in the world, and the first time I would do it would be on the walkover. So that’s how life is sometimes,” he said.

He even added a lighthearted note about the trophy. Medvedev shared that the previous one he won actually broke, so he doesn’t have it at home. He joked that this was a good opportunity to bring another one back.

Despite the unusual ending, the result still matters. The former world No. 1 didn’t drop a set all week and now has two titles this year and three in the past four months. The win also gives him 400 ATP ranking points, pushing him much closer to the top 10.

Right now, he sits just 45 points behind Alexander Bublik, who currently holds the final top-10 spot. At Indian Wells, Medvedev will be defending semifinal points from last year, while in Miami, he has nothing to defend after an early exit. The race back into the elite group is officially on.

So, do you think Tallon Griekspoor made the right call by withdrawing, or should he have tried to play through the pain?