Dimitrov Dazzles To Reach Third Round In Cincinnati
Could Grigor Dimitrov be primed for another deep run in Cincinnati?
The 2017 champion defeated Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik 6-3, 7-5 to reach the third round at the Western & Southern Open for the fifth time. The Bulgarian will play top seed Daniil Medvedev or Mackenzie McDonald for a spot in the quarter-finals.
Dimitrov has long enjoyed success at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, where he made the semi-finals in 2016 and captured his first ATP Masters 1000 title in 2017. The former World No. 3 is now 18-8 at the Ohio tournament.
The Kazakhstani recently beat Dimitrov in straight sets at Wimbledon and previously led their ATP Head2Head series 2-0. And although Bublik leads the ATP Tour in aces in 2021, he critically hit nine double faults.
Two-time Western & Southern Open champion Andy Murray earned an impressive win on Monday against Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati, but ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz halted his run on Wednesday.
The ninth seed broke through the Scot’s defences with an onslaught of 17 aces, defeating the former World No. 1 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the third round. The Polish star will next play seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta.
“Playing against Murray is something special. I never had a chance to play a match against him [before],” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “He’s such a great competitor. What he’s done for the sport is really amazing. He’s such a great player and a person. It’s a very big win for me.”
Hurkacz has enjoyed the best season of his career, including his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Miami and his first trip to a major semi-final at Wimbledon, where he upset Medvedev and Roger Federer. The 24-year-old began his week in ninth in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin as he pushes to make his debut at the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
Murray battled hard, saving four of the six break points he faced. But the wild card was unable to make the Pole too uncomfortable. Hurkacz’s next opponent, Carreno Busta, eliminated German lucky loser Dominik Koepfer 6-4, 6-2 in 80 minutes earlier in the day.