Grigor Dimitrov beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-2, 6-4 in a captivating encounter in breezy conditions on centre court – and is now one match away from returning to the men’s top 10 for the first time since 2018.
In a match full of superb shot making, physical rallies and deft touches, Dimitrov’s outstanding returns and offensive baseline game guided him to his second consecutive win over the top seed, who took thirty minutes to win his first game.
Dimitrov, who came through a nervy final set tie-breaker with Hubert Hurkacz in the previous round, used his chipped backhand to great effect in the early stages and forced breakpoint in Alcaraz’s first game after saving breakpoints in his opening game. The Bulgarian was crunching his forehands at an average speed of 85mph and raced to a 3-0 lead, and had two more breakpoints but was unable to convert for 4-0, and Alcaraz finally won his first game of the match after half an hour.
Alcaraz, who led their head-to-head 3-1 with wins on three different surfaces, was visibly troubled with his shot execution during the first set and missed numerous second serve returns. Taking advantage of the new coaching rules during play, he went to his box for some coaching tips during the changeover when 2-5 down as he searched for inspiration.
Dimitrov is currently enjoying his highest singles ranking for five years and played a near-flawless opening set with 81% first points won. He converted his first set point with a lovely single-handed backhand winner after 49 minutes of glorious attacking tennis.
The early stages of the second set went with serve but there was more trouble ahead for the Spaniard in the fourth game when he double faulted to go 15-30 down and then threw in a horrible drop shot to gift his opponent more breakpoints. Dimitrov took his chance immediately with a stunning forehand return of serve winner up the line. He backed up the break with a quickfire hold to love and stormed to a 4-1 lead.
Watched on by boxing legend ‘Iron’ Mike Tyson, Alcaraz tried his best to counterpunch his way back into the contest and came through another tight service game saving two more breakpoints and managed to hold on for 2-4. Then, miraculously – and totally against the run of play – he broke serve to love with a clinical return game. Suddenly the set was back on serve when moments ago he was heading for the exit.
But Dimitrov regrouped and held serve in the crucial ninth game to go 5-4 up before breaking serve to close the contest and reach his third Masters 1000 semi final from his last four events. He was understandably thrilled with his latest achievement: “Overall, it was great, honestly a great match from my end and I’m happy I finished in straight sets for once. I’m so grateful to be here in the semifinals, the furthest I’ve come in this event, it brings me a lot of joy.”
After his win, he was asked on court about whether his go-for-broke tactics had paid off:
“Overall to win against him, you have to play at your best, that’s how it is. I came into the match very focussed and I was extremely clear on what I had to do. Sometimes simplicity is very hard to do, especially when you play against an opponent like that, but I was able to dictate and read the game better than the last time. I was just using every opportunity I had. I attacked every second serve and made sure I was putting him in very difficult positions and I had to keep on being aggressive and come to the net and move the ball around and not let him hit, because once you let him hit the point is over.
Eleventh seed Dimitrov now faces Alexander Zverev in the semi final but has a poor 1-7 H2H with his sole victory coming ten years ago. However, after dispatching the top seed, he was inevitably in bullish mood: “7-1 down, it’s just a number. He’s just another opponent for me right now. First, I need to see what I did today in order to prepare for the next one, that’s my goal right now. I don’t want to overthink too much, it’s just another match.”
