Juan Martin Del Potro and Grigor Dimitov edged out tough opponents on Friday to reach the semifinals at the IF Stockholm Open.
In the first quarterfinal of the day, Grigor Dimitrov defeated Kevin Anderson 7-6(3) 5-7 6-2 in a hard fought match to reach the semifinals. The Bulgarian broke three times and won 79% of his 2nd service points to survive a tough test. Despite Anderson nailing 9 aces past Dimitrov, he ran out of steam and surrendered the match after 2 hours and 18 minutes. The win sealed Dimitrov’s seventh semifinal of the season and continues his good run of form. After the match the world number 18 acknowledged that he didn’t play at his best today, “There was some very poor serving form me today, that’s all I can say. I know Kevin was stepping in on pretty much everything, so the match could have gone either way.” He will now aim to reach his second IF Stockholm Open in three years.
After his win today, Dimitrov will now play Juan Martin Del Potro in the semifinals, who eased past Ivo Karlovic 6-3 6-4. The Argentinian’s serve was once again imperious as he won 81% of his 1st service points. Another key factor was his return as he converted both of his break point opportunities to kill the match off and seal his 26th win of the season. Del Potro and Dimitrov will meet for the fourth time tomorrow, with the Argentinian winning all three previous meetings. His reaction to today’s win is below:
Meanwhile in the top half of the draw, last year’s finalist Jack Sock is safely through to the last four in Stockholm. The American beat Gael Monfils’ conqueror Gastao Elias 6-4 6-4 in an hour and 34 minutes. The world number 23 used his unique forehand to create 12 break point opportunities. He converted three times as he eased past the world number 61. A win tomorrow will see the American reach his third final of 2016.
The final quarterfinal of the day saw Alexander Zverev score a victory over his compatriot Tobias Kamke 6-3 7-6(5). Zverev managed to neutralise Kamke’s power shots and break the qualifier five times en route to victory. The world number 20 will now contest an ATP world tour semifinal for the seventh time this season. He will now meet Sock tomorrow for a place in the final. Zverev and Sock only met on one previous occasion, which saw Zverev win in straight sets at the China Open a few weeks ago.
