With the clay court season now complete, the best tennis players in the world are now on grass. This week we have seen two significant upsets by Canadians at the 2025 Libema Open in Rosmalen, Netherlands.
In the second round in the men’s draw on Wednesday, Gabriel Diallo of Montreal, Quebec, the 55th ranked player in the world, upset Jordan Thompson of Australia, the 37th ranked player in the world and the tournament’s sixth seed, 4-6, 6-1, 7-5. Also in the first round in the women’s draw on Wednesday, American-born Canadian Carson Branstine (cousin of Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Freddie Freeman) stunned Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1. This was a colossal upset as Samsonova was seeded first in the tournament, was the defending champion, and ranked 18th in the world. it was the first time that Branstine, ranked 231st in the world, beat a top 20 player.
Diallo had the service edge over Thompson. He had 11 aces and zero double faults. Thompson had four aces and three double faults. Diallo broke Thompson three times in seven opportunities. Thompson was the second Australian Diallo beat at the Libema Open. He beat Aleksander Vukic 7-5, 7-6 in the first round.
Branstine, meanwhile, broke Samsonova six times. Branstine will next face Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Romania, the 65th ranked player in the world in the second round. Diallo will next face the third seed Karen Khachanov of Russia. Khachanov, is the 24th ranked player in the world, and two-time grand slam semifinalist (2022 United States Open and 2023 Australian Open). Khachanov has won all three prior meetings (6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the 2024 National Bank Open in Montreal, 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in the final of Almaty in 2024, and 7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round of the 2025 Australian Open).