After having overcome a debut that was more complicated than expected, Carlos Alcaraz’s next obstacle is Grigor Dimitrov (Haskovo, Bulgaria, 1991). The third round of the Mutua Madrid Open brings the second confrontation between the two. The only precedent took place in the round of 16 of the Masters 1,000 in Paris-Bercy in November 2022 and the Murcian took it in two sets (6-1 and 6-3). It is not the first time that they have seen each other since they arrived in the capital. The current champion’s first training session at the Caja Mágica, which took place last Wednesday, consisted of a rally with the Bulgarian.
Dimitrov arrives at the match against Alcaraz as number 32 in the ranking and with an extensive career behind him. In his showcases he has eight titles, among which the Cincinnati Masters 1,000 and the Masters Cupboth in 2017. It was his only participation in the ATP Finals and he finished with five victories, which catapulted him to the number 3 of the world. He was the first rookie to finish the tournament 5-0, and the first to do so since John McEnroe in 1978.
He has also disputed three Grand Slam semifinals: Wimbledon 2014, Australian Open 2017 and US Open 2019. The Bulgarian can boast of having beaten Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic. His only victory against the Swiss allowed him to advance to the penultimate round at the New York Grand Slam, becoming the second lowest-ranked tournament semifinalist in history.
He also once beat Nadal, in Beijing 2016, although the Spaniard beat him fourteen other times. While the victory against Djokovic occurred precisely in the Caja Mágica. In the second round of the 2013 Mutua Madrid Open, gave the bell by beating the Serbian, who was number 1 in the world at the time, in a match that lasted more than three hours.
Dimitrov’s clay court tour is not being exciting. He fell in Monte Carlo in the second round and was forced to retire in the third from Godó due to illness. Already in Madrid, he defeated Frenchman Gregoire Barrere in the second round in two hard-fought sets (7-6 (6) and 7-6 (2)). Today another major challenge awaits him: Alcaraz, first seed, defending champion and local hero. The doubts that the Murcian showed before Ruusuvuori can serve as hope for the Bulgarian to attempt the feat.
2023-04-30 03:19:43
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