Potapova credits boyfriend Griekspoor after Madrid QF win: ‘He saved me just in time!’
Dutch ATP Tour star was courtside for closing stages of Potapova’s victory
April 29, 2026
Clive Brunskill/Getty Images & Mutua Madrid Open
Anastasia Potapova and Tallon Griekspoor at the 2026 Mutua Madrid Open.
By ATP Staff
Tallon Griekspoor may have fallen to defeat on the doubles court on Wednesday afternoon at the Mutua Madrid Open, but it wasn’t long before the Dutchman was playing a role in a significant victory elsewhere at the Caja Magica.
Anastasia Potapova, the No. 56 player in the PIF WTA Rankings, was locked in a third-set tussle with Karolina Pliskova just as her boyfriend Griekspoor’s doubles hopes came to an end. Shortly after Luke Johnson and Jan Zielinski overcame Griekspoor and his partner Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 4-6, 10-3 on Stadium 3, the Dutchman appeared in Potapova’s player box ready to support her pursuit of a maiden semi-final appearance at a WTA 1000 event.
Potapova had dropped serve twice early in the third set against Pliskova but proceeded to reel off five games in a row for a 6-1, 6-7(4), 6-3 quarter-final triumph. The 25-year-old was quick to credit Griekspoor’s arrival as a key factor in her comeback.
“To be honest, I was a little bit gone mentally in the third set,” Potapova said. “I didn’t believe in myself at that moment. This is the first time I’m going to say it, but big respect to my boyfriend who came just on time. He saved me just in time. He kept telling me, ‘You can do this. We’re all together here. Just keep going’. If I can say, I think in the third set it was most of his job to win this. I just played and mentally he just kept me there.”
Potapova will hope that Griekspoor, the No. 33 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, can provide further courtside inspiration in Madrid as she bids to reach the biggest championship match of her career. The Austrian will face Marta Kostyuk or Linda Noskova in Thursday’s semi-finals in the Spanish capital.
“I think he has bright future in coaching, we knew it before this match,” Potapova added when asked about Griekspoor in her post-match press conference. “As I said, he came just on time to save me. The support he has, it’s unbelievable. He believes so hard. The things what he can say, I don’t think anyone can say that during the match, because he isn’t afraid. He’s not scared of me. He can tell me literally anything.”
Potapova explained that Griekspoor urged her to continue working, especially with her legs in the points: “And that we are both here together in this match, I’m not just by myself. It just happened at such an important moment, and it gave me a lot of energy. I mean, mentally, I think he got this match. I did it physically. He did it mentally. So it’s nice.”
