Grigor Dimitrov (17th ATP) qualified for the semi-finals of the Paris-Bercy Masters 1000 for the second time, after 2019, ending practically all the hopes of qualifying for the end-of-season Masters of Hubert Hurkacz (11th), to whom defeated 6-1, 4-6 and 6-4 this Friday.
Dimitrov will fight for a place in the final with the winner of the duel between Stefanos Tsitsipas (6th) and Karen Khachanov (15th).
At 32 years old, Dimitrov is experiencing a second youth and in Paris he has left examples of his class, now seasoned with a consistency that he had lost. It is the first season in which the Bulgarian has reached 40 victories since 2017, when he reached number 3 in the ranking.
In Paris he accounted for the current number 3, the Russian Daniil Medvedev, in a memorable match.
Against Hurkacz, winner of the last Masters 1,000 in Shanghai, he had a less intense match, but that did not mean he showed less quality.
I know that Dimitrov has always been haunted by Federer’s shadow due to their similarities on a technical level, but this photo today, apart from being wonderful, is almost a carbon copy of that legendary shot by Roger at Wimbledon.
What a pleasure to behold, Grigor’s tennis. pic.twitter.com/ZwRStRWaqO
— José Morón (@jmgmoron) November 3, 2023
Dimitrov, 17th in the ranking, was solid and knew how to deactivate the lethal serve of the Pole, the only tennis player who this season has exceeded 1,000 direct serve points.
It is true that the Bulgarian has the measure of him, because he had beaten him in the three previous events, one of them this season on the fast track of Rotterdam.
But in recent months, Hurkacz was unstoppable and had only lost two of the last 17 matches in Masters 1,000, both at the hands of the Spanish Carlos Alcaraz, in Toronto and in Cincinnati.
This defeat for Hurkacz ends the Pole’s last mathematical qualification options for the Masters, which will bring together the eight best players of the season in Turin (Italy) in mid-November.
Only two of the eight tickets are looking for a holder. Alexander Zverev and Holger Rune are at the moment the best placed to take them.
Dimitrov already played a semifinal in the Paris tournament on an indoor hard court, it was in 2019, which ended with a loss to Novak Djokovic.
2023-11-03 18:37:19
#move #Grigor #Dimitrov #compared #Roger #Federer
