Dimitrov Delivers! Bulgaria Beats Moldova In Sydney

Bulgaria needed until 2:46am Saturday morning to secure their first tie victory of the ATP Cup, surprising Great Britain in a thriller. But there was no such drama on Sunday, with the team cruising past Moldova.

Grigor Dimitrov beat Radu Albot 6-2, 6-3 in 83 minutes to seal his country’s victory, which ultimately was by a 2-1 margin.

“I just had to build up the team a little bit for today, and after that it was just all about the game,” Dimitrov said. “I think Dimitar did a great job this morning. Obviously it was a good match on his end. And then I had to make sure I stayed strong throughout the whole match today. That was good.”

The former World No. 3, who won the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals, showed no fatigue after playing a total of six sets in singles and doubles against Great Britain, on top of serving in his role as Bulgarian captain. Dimitrov broke the Moldovan four times, winning 86 per cent of his first-serve points to put the tie out of reach.

In the second set, Albot, the 2019 Delray Beach titlist, fought back from a break down to put pressure on Dimitrov. But the World No. 20 had the match on his racquet and did not panic, defeating Albot in their first ATP Head2Head meeting.

“Coming into this thing, I knew that if we come together, we have a great opportunity. I know I have to not only believe in myself now, but I need to believe in the players that are with me,” Dimitrov said. “My only goal was, and I’m honest on that, was just to put them together, to make sure we practise together, to make sure they learn something from me, to make sure they are surrounded by the top players. That was my main goal.”

Dimitrov’s countryman, Dimitar Kuzmanov, fell just short of a big win against Great Britain, losing to Cameron Norrie in three sets. But the World No. 423 would not be denied on Sunday, defeating Alexander Cozbinov 6-1, 7-5 to give his country the early lead.

“I’m the happiest person right now,” Kuzmanov said, cracking a smile. “As I was giving the interview on the court… I totally forgot that this is also my first ATP match win.
I didn’t think about it at all. I was really, really focussed only about my game, just stick with it, the plan, the game plan we had. I think it was working pretty well.”

The 26-year-old arrived in Sydney without an ATP Tour win in his career. But Kuzmanov broke serve five times against World No. 818 Cozbinov to triumph after one hour and 48 minutes.

“Really happy that I dealt with the pressure, because it’s not easy. It’s not easy to always play the first match, as a No. 2 player, and especially I’m still getting used to everything here and that level,” Kuzmanov said. “I’m learning and I’m feeling better and better every day here and on court. At the end, the most important thing is that I managed to pull this one [out].”

The rallies were tightly contested throughout, with Cozbinov consistently trying to play aggressively as Kuzmanov fended off his opponent’s attacks. The Bulgarian was patient, forcing Cozbinov to go for more and more from neutral positions in the court, leading to some errors after long points. The Bulgarian also tried to use his backhand slice to change the rhythm of rallies.

But Cozbinov was playing for his country, and like he did against Belgium’s Steve Darcis on Friday, the Moldovan battled hard until the end. The 24-year-old surged from 0-4 down in the second set, getting back on serve at 5-5, even after Kuzmanov earned a 40/0 advantage as he served for the match for the first time at 5-4.

Kuzmanov remained calm, though, breaking back in the next game to earn the chance to serve for the match again. Even after falling short in a 40-shot rally on his fourth match point, Kuzmanov sealed his victory with a forehand down the line that Cozbinov couldn’t handle. The Bulgarian fell to the court on his stomach in celebration, getting up and kissing the Bulgarian flag on his shirt.

Both country’s No. 1 singles players competed in the doubles match, with Albot and Cozbinov beating Dimitrov and Alexandar Lazarov 6-4, 7-6(4). That was Moldova’s first match win of the ATP Cup.