Dimitrov Battles For Istanbul QF Spot

Grigor Dimitrov got his campaign at the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open off to a winning start on Wednesday when the second seed defeated qualifier Adrian Ungur 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 in two hours and 14 minutes. He is now 16-8 on the year and next challenges sixth seed Jiri Vesely or Roberto Carballes Baena. Last year, Dimitrov reached the semi-finals (l. to Cuevas).

Federico Delbonis, the fourth seed, who is two spots off his career-high of No. 34 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, got the better of Dudi Sela 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 and now faces eighth seed Albert Ramos-Vinolas in the last eight. Ramos-Vinolas knocked out ATP Next Generation wild card Karen Khachanov 4-6, 6-1, 6-0.

Sofia Champions Fall In Doubles Opener

Fourth seeds Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop, who picked up their first ATP World Tour title at Sofia (d. Oswald/Shamasdin) in February by winning all four of their matches in Match tie-breaks, lost in the first round. Carlos Berlocq and Teymuraz Gabashvili won 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 10-4.

Day Four Preview

It took Bernard Tomic only one week of the 2016 season to reach a career-high No. 17 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Since then, he has been the No. 1 seed at four ATP World Tour 250 events, including the TEB BNP Paribas Istanbul Open. But life on top hasn’t been easy for the Aussie. He has yet to reach a semi-final as a No. 1 seed, posting his only two wins over players outside the Top 100. Tomic’s challenge will be tougher in Istanbul on Thursday as he meets Diego Schwartzman, who fell to No. 1 seed Roger Federer 26 62 75 in the 2015 Istanbul semi-finals.

Also inside Garanti Koza Arena, No. 3 seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia faces Dusan Lajovic of Serbia. Karlovic has been stuck on 299 career wins since October, losing eight straight matches while struggling with a left knee injury. Thursday may be his lucky day as he enters with a 3-0 FedEx ATP Head 2 Head record against Lajovic, who is 0-6 lifetime against Croatian opponents.

In-form players open the action on Thursday when Illya Marchenko meets Damir Dzumhur. Marchenko has 10 wins on the season, his most since earning 18 in 2010. Dzumhur has a career-high 12 wins in 2016, highlighted by victories over No. 5 Rafael Nadal and No. 7 Tomas Berdych. Play concludes with No. 5 seed Marcel Granollers against Next Generation star Hyeon Chung.