Daniel Merida reached his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal on Sunday in Montreal, sweeping past Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-1 in 69 minutes at the National Bank Open. The 21-year-old Spaniard controlled the match with clean baseline play, leaning heavily on his backhand, while Griekspoor—who had knocked out top seed Alexander Zverev earlier in the tournament—struggled to maintain intensity and dropped serve twice in the second set with double faults. From a set and 0-4 down, the Dutchman had no way back.
Merida’s Rapid Ascent in the Tennis World
Merida arrived without a tour-level hard-court win but has surged through the draw with victories over Alex Michelsen, Ugo Humbert, and Liam Draxl. His breakout year continues to gather pace: he began the season outside the Top 160, has climbed to No. 40 in the live rankings to secure a Top-50 debut, and lifted his first tour title last month in Umag. He had never advanced beyond the third round at a Masters 1000 before this week.
Next up for Merida is 12th seed Learner Tien, who beat Thiago Agustin Tirante 6-4, 6-4 to book his place in the last eight. The 20-year-old American became the youngest U.S. men’s quarterfinalist in Canada since Andy Roddick in 2002. Tien managed blustery conditions with steady returning and is into his second Masters 1000 quarterfinal of the season after a run in Indian Wells, where he fell to eventual champion Jannik Sinner. The left-hander has also defeated Tommy Paul and Gael Monfils this week and earlier this year won a clay-court title in Geneva.
As both players look to make their mark in the tournament, the upcoming match promises to be an exciting showdown between two rising stars in the world of tennis. Fans eagerly await to see if Merida can continue his impressive run and further solidify his place among the elite in professional tennis.