Holger Rune avoids upset to make first BNP Paribas Open semifinal

Tallon Griekspoor has had some magic in his racket at the BNP Paribas Open this year, and it looked like that would continue Thursday when he took the first set, but then it all went poof.

The unseeded player from the Netherlands, who beat No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev in the second round, had No. 12 Holger Rune on the ropes in the quarterfinal, but the veteran from Denmark took over and won 12 of the final 15 games for a 5-7, 6-0, 6-3.

The win puts Rune into his first semifinal at this event and only his third ever at a Masters 1000 event. He did make the quarterfinals here last year. He’ll face either Daniil Medvedev or rising French star Arthur Fils in the semifinals scheduled for Saturday.

If he wins this tournament on Sunday, it would be the biggest moment of Rune’s career. He’s never made even the semis at a Grand Slam and his only Masters 1000 title was the 2022 Paris Masters.

On Thursday, Rune forced the action and Griekspoor made 47 unforced errors to Rune’s 26. Conversely, Rune hit 33 winners to Griekspoor’s 18.

This is already an excellent result for Rune who has not had a great 2025. He lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open and hasn’t won more than one match at any tournament since. He was one of the many players who pulled out of his most recent event in Mexico with food poisoning. But he’s healthy now and playing some great tennis.

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This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Holger Rune avoids upset to make first BNP Paribas Open semifinal