LONDON: With a semifinal to prepare for on Saturday, Grigor Dimitrov was in no mood to stand around as he thrashed Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta 6-1, 6-1, in his final group match at The O2 Arena.
Dimitrov’s confidence from his other whitewash win over David Goffin earlier in the week was evident in his latest match. Dictating the rallies from the start, the first 11 points of the encounter went in favour of the Bulgarian. In all, Dimitrov took only 20 minutes to get into a position to serve for the first set. A task he completed with the help of a serve out wide.
Carreno Busta’s problems on court deteriorated further when he took a tumble. Trying to stretch for a shot, he missed and ended up falling over. Then in the second set, he received a medical time out to undergo treatment of his hip. Delaying the match by almost five minutes. Nevertheless the Spaniard, who has achieved a career-best season of 36-26 in 2017, kept battling on.
“I felt a little bit of pain. I think it’s not the problem because I finish my season now, so I have time to rest.” He said during his press conference.
Despite the determination of Carreno Busta, it was a one-way encounter with Dimitrov prevailing in just over an hour. Hitting 15 winners to nine unforced errors. A sharp contrast to his opponents tally of six and 21.
“Another good match I think,” Dimitrov said during his on-court interview. “I just want to keep the momentum going and focusing on each match. The flags from Bulgaria are out again – as soon as I get out on this court – it’s special.”
As the first Bulgarian to play in the tournament’s history, Dimitrov will take on Jack Sock for a place in the final on Saturday. The world No.6 lost to Sock earlier in the year at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells. Overall, Dimitrov has only managed to defeat the American once in their four encounters on the tour.
“He’s a very dangerous opponent and has the tools to beat everybody. I just have to focus on my game.” He commented about the upcoming clash.
“He is not an ordinary player. He really uses his strengths very good. I think he obviously has improved a lot on his game, played pretty much throughout the whole year, very strong finish of the year, yeah, won a Masters. Obviously he’s riding on confidence right now.” Dimitrov later added.
Dimitrov will take on Sock on Saturday at 20:00 GMT.
