Félix Auger-Aliassime beat the heat in the Balearic Islands and took down world No. 73 Hamad Medjedovic in the Mallorca Championships quarter-final on Thursday.
The Canadian No. 1 rallied after losing the opening set to win 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, moving on to his seventh semifinal of 2025. He ties world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz for the most semifinal appearances so far this year.
There could have been an all-Canadian semifinal in Mallorca, but Gabriel Diallo was beaten in his quarter-final by Tallon Griekspoor earlier in the day.
It was a tale of two sets to open the match. Auger-Aliassime didn’t hold a single break point in the first but followed that up with five break point chances in the second, converting two. The Canadian was strong on serve in the deciding set, winning 87 per cent of his first-serve points.
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Both players had the ideal start on serve, dropping just one point combined in their opening two service games.
In the eighth game with the Serbian up 4-3, Medjedovic had two opportunities to break at 15-40 and another at 40-AD. The Montreal-native saved the first two but couldn’t on the third time of asking, giving the Serb a chance to serve for the set.
Auger-Aliassime put Medjedovic under a bit of pressure on serve, stretching the game to nearly 13 minutes, but the Canadian was unable to break and dropped the opener 6-3.
However, the 24-year-old responded in dominant fashion. In his first two service games, the Canadian No. 1 fired two of his 11 aces in the match as he moved ahead 2-1. The Montreal-native then managed two-straight breaks to establish a big lead.
At 5-1, Auger-Aliassime added two more aces to his tally, capping off a commanding set with a love hold to extend the match.
The Canadian was nearly on the wrong end of an early break in the decisive set, having to save three break points but eventually was able to hold in the second game.
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There was not another break point in the set until the ninth game where Auger-Aliassime held three break points of his own. At love-40, Medjedovic saved one but in the ensuing point, the world No. 27 was on the attack early and eventually fired one of his 25 winners in the match to earn the chance to serve for a semifinal berth.
From 5-4, 15-love, Auger-Aliassime wrapped up the match with three-straight aces, the fourth time this season that the Montreal-native has come out with the win after losing the opening set.
Auger-Aliassime will face Dutch No. 1 Griekspoor in the final four on Friday.
Diallo Outserved by Griekspoor in Mallorca Quarter-Finals
Gabriel Diallo will head to Wimbledon after bowing out in the quarter-finals of the ATP 250 event in Mallorca on Thursday, falling to fourth seed Tallon Griekspoor in straight sets. It was the second quarter-final appearance for the Montrealer in three grass events so far in 2025.
The margins were razor-thin in this rematch of the Roland-Garros second round but seemingly every big point went Griekspoor’s way. Diallo never managed to break the Dutchman and was edged out 6-4, 6-4 for his second loss to the world No. 34 in four events.
Griekspoor was brilliant on serve in the quarter-final clash, winning 76 per cent of his total service points, 78 per cent on his first serve and an impressive 71 per cent on his second. He saved the lone break point he faced in the match while converting two of his four opportunities.
Things looked good for Diallo early as he got a look at a break in Griekspoor’s opening service game after firing a big return that the Dutchman could not handle. However, Griekspoor saved it with some impressive play at the net. That ultimately ended up being the Canadian’s only break point in the match.
At 2-all, the Dutchman got into a Diallo service game for the first time. The Canadian saved a break point at 30-40 with an ace but Griekspoor laced a backhand passing shot up the line to get a second chance and Diallo netted a forehand to surrender the break.
After Griekspoor took a 3-2 lead, the servers locked in for the rest of the set. On return, the pair combined to win just four points in the next five games as the Dutchman clung to that lone break and took the opening set.
Diallo got into trouble early immediately in the second. At deuce in his opening service game, he fired a passing shot well long to go down 40-AD. He saved the break point with a forehand winner but proceeded to double fault, giving Griekspoor a second chance. This time, the Canadian drove a forehand into the net to fall behind right at the start of the set.
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While Diallo settled back in and did not face another break point in the set, it was too little, too late. Once he had the lead, Griekspoor never gave the Montrealer a sniff of getting back on serve. The closest Diallo came in a return game was right after getting broken when he pushed to 30-all, but after that, he never won more than one point in a Griekspoor service game the rest of the way.
Depending on other results this week, Diallo could head to the All-England Club next week inside the Top 40 of the ATP rankings, which would be a new career-high. He will be making his main-draw debut at The Championships. The Wimbledon draw will take place on Friday, June 27.
Feature Photo: Mallorca Championships
