Grigor Dimitrov At 32 years old, he is experiencing a spring in his career. She demonstrated it this Thursday night by beating, with a beating included, Carlos Alcaraz in the stellar duel of the quarterfinals of the Masters 1000 de Miami. The Bulgarian, who was always labeled as a miniature Roger Federer Due to his exquisite technique, he played his best tennis to leave the tournament without its top favorite and break an ideal semifinals with the four seeds fighting for a place in Sunday’s definition. It was 6-2 and 6-4 for the Haskovo native in just over 1 hour and 30 minutes of action on the cement of the charming complex located in Miami Gardens.
It was Dimitrov’s second consecutive victory over Alcaraz, who now leads the record 3-2. The previous match had been a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 victory for the Bulgarian in the round of 16 of the Shanghai Masters 1000. His rival in the run-up to the decisive match will be the German Alexander Zverev, who this Thursday put an end to the adventure of the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan by 6-3 and 7-5. The other ticket will be fought between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, in a repeat of the 2023 final in which the Russian tennis player won.
The Spaniard, who this month won his fifth Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells, saw his streak of nine consecutive victories broken and his goal of being the first Spaniard to win the double of titles known as ‘Sunshine Double’.
Alcaraz had an unusually subdued and erratic performance in a tournament in which he had not lost a single set until now. In Miami, where in 2022 he inaugurated his harvest of Masters 1000 crowns, he had also banished the pain of the ankle injury that forced him to abandon in February in Rio de Janeiro. “It made me feel like I was 13 years old. It was very crazy. I talked about it with my bench. I didn’t know what to do on the court. It’s very crazy. That’s why I’m frustrated now,” acknowledged the world number two.
On Thursday, however, he crashed against the best version of Dimitrov, a veteran who reached third place in the ATP rankings. “To beat Carlos you have to play at your best level,” stressed Dimitrov, who had lost three of his four previous duels with the Murcian.
“I entered the game very focused and with very clear ideas about what I had to do,” he said. “I was able to dictate and read the game better than last time. Overall, a great match by me. I’m glad we finished in straight sets.”
The Bulgarian, whose only title in a Masters 1000 dates back to 2017 in Cincinnati, not only neutralized four of Alcaraz’s few five break balls but also won several spectacular exchanges, a field where the Spanish prodigy usually shines.
The Miami crowd tried to cheer Alcaraz on when his serve began to falter early in the match, allowing Dimitrov to take a 3-0 lead in the opening set.
Frustration quickly took hold of the Spaniard and, after missing a forehand, he shouted several times at his box, where his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero was trying to guide him out of the slump.
Dimitrov’s inspiration even earned the applause of Alcaraz himself after a brilliant hit.
Alcaraz’s ordeal was followed from the stands by sports personalities such as boxing legend Mike Tyson or Jimmy Butler, the star of the NBA’s Miami Heat, a regular presence at the Spaniard’s games in his city.
Dimitrov sealed the first set with a second break and maintained the initiative at the start of the second until he was 4-1 ahead.
Against the ropes, Alcaraz worked hard until he found flashes of his tennis and chained three games in a row to tie the set amid cries of self-motivation.
But Dimitrov stood firm against the threat of a comeback, held serve and certified the victory before Alcaraz could get into the rhythm.
2024-03-29 00:44:00
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