PETE ZIEBRON in CINCINNATI
Grigor Dimitrov finally solves Juan Martin del Potro in Cincinnati. Photo Courtesy: Christopher Johnson, Grand Slam Magazine
Before he even took the court at the Western & Southern Open, Grigor Dimitrov was the only seed remaining in his quarter. Roger Federer, the #2 seed withdrew after an injury in the Montreal final on Sunday and was replaced by Lucky Loser Thomas Fabbiano. Meanwhile, #10 seed Tomas Berdych was defeated by Juan Martin del Potro and #13 seed Jack Sock was upended by Yuichi Sugita in the first round.
Following his second round win over Feliciano Lopez, Dimitrov took the court on Thursday against Juan Martin del Potro for the first match of the day on Center Court. Del Potro advance to this third round encounter defeating American qualifier Mitchell Kruger in straight sets on Wednesday. Heading into the match, Dimitrov had only managed to win just two sets in their five previous meetings as del Potro led the head to head 5-0.
Dimitrov, the #7 seed raced to a 3-0 lead as del Potro managed to win just two points in the opening two games and the Bulgarian snuffed out del Potro's efforts in the third game when it went to deuce by closing out that game with an ace. Each player held serve for the remainder of the set, with the only threat of a break coming when Dimitrov served for the set. The tall Argentine was not able to convert on a break point when he attempted to get the set back on serve and Dimitrov was one set away from his very first win over del Potro.
Juan Martin del Potro marched to leads of 3-0 and 4-1 in the second set before Dimitrov was able to break in the seventh game and then consolidate to square the set a 4-all. After Delpo held to go to 5-4, the Argentine had two opportunities to break and win the second set but both times Dimitrov stymied him and closed the game with his eighth ace of the match. During the eleventh game of the set, del Potro tightened up and it appeared that his left knee was suddenly giving him problems. As he was hunched over, Dimitrov approached the net to see if he was OK, then the Bulgarian called for a towel to give Delpo a bit more time before he served. This was certainly a nice gesture of sportsmanship from Dimitrov.
Juan Martin del Potro in agony late in the second set as he was very concerned about his ability to continue play. Photo Courtesy: Christopher Johnson, Grand Slam Magazine
Dimitrov sensed an opportunity after the close call and broke del Potro in that eleventh game to put himself in position to serve out the match. Despite getting down, 15-30, the Bulgarian won the final three points of the game to record his first win over the 2009 US Open Champion 6-3 7-5.
After the match, Dimitrov elaborated a bit on his gameplay against del Potro on his victory: "I definitely have to stay away a little bit from that forehand. I knew if I keep the ball low on his backhand side and just kind of work my way into the court, it would have been the right thing to do.
I think I did very, very well this thing today. The short slice really made him very uncomfortable, and he was giving me a lot of short balls so I can start moving him with my forehand. So it was also a bit of a mind game, because we know our game pretty well. We practice a lot. And, yeah, basically who's going to crack first.
Yeah, I was just pleased that at least I did -- the things I wanted to do today on the court, I did them very well. Yeah."
Next up for Dimitrov is Yuichi Sugita of Japan in the third match on Center Court. Last year, the two met at the Canadian Masters 1000, with Dimitrov winning in three tight sets.
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