Grigor Dimitrov beat Lorenzo Musetti 6-3 6-4 after 94 minutes in the final match of the evening at the Erste Bank Open in the Wiener Stadthalle in Vienna. Dimitrov won 80% of points on his first serve.
Dimitrov earned his first break in the fourth game to take a 4-1 lead. Musetti saved two break points to hold serve in the sixth game for 2-4. Dimitrov fended off a break-back point in the 10thgame. Musetti saved two break points in the third game to hold serve at deuce for 2-1 but he was not able to convert a break point in the fifth game. Dimitrov earned the break in the ninth game before sealing the win on his first match point.
Dimitrov has scored a record of 36 wins to 19 defeats this year. The Bulgarian will face either Danil Medvedev or French Next Gen player Arthur Fils. Medvedev beat Dimitrov in the semifinal in Vienna last year.
Stefanos Tsitsipas saved all three break points he faced in his 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win over Dominic Thiem.
Both players went on serve in the first set en route to the tie-break. Tsitsipas came back from 2-4 down to win the tie-break of the first set 7-5. The Greek player fended off three break points in the second game to hold serve for 1-1 before earning a decisive break in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Thiem saved three break points in the fifth game to hold serve at deuce for 2-3. Tsitsipas held his next two service games to seal the win on his first match point after 1 hour and 59 minutes.
Tsitsipas is currently sixth in the ATP Live Race to Turin. He has scored a record of 46 wins to 20 defeats in 2023.
Tsitsipas now leads 6-5 in his head-to-head matches against Thiem, including his previous two wins in Madrid and at Wimbledon. Both times Tsitsipas won the decideing set in the tie-break.
“He made it difficult, as always. Every single match that we have played this year has been on the edge, and it would not be any different this time. I really had to come up with some good shots towards the end and there were some extraordinary rallies that were being played during the course of the match. It was very physical and I had to stay very composed. Especially in the second set he really stepped up his game, but I did not give him that break that he was looking for”, said Tsitsipas.
