Grigor Dimitrov has claimed his biggest win of 2016 after stunning world No.2 Andy Murray 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-3, in the third round of the Miami Open.
The 24-year-old, who achieved a ranking best of 8th in 2014, is familiar with Murray’s playing style. The third round match was their ninth meeting on the ATP tour, with Dimitrov trailing the head-to-head two to six.
As the match kicked-off in the Miami heat, it was Murray who started off the stronger against an erratic Dimitrov. The Bulgarian produced two unforced errors and a double fault to hand the Brit three chances to break in the first game of the match. Murray failed to convert all three due to some impressive shot-making from Dimitrov. The inconsistent start soon went to Murray’s advantage when he broke two games later for 2-1 after his opponent missed a smash. The early advantage was short-lived after Dimitrov found his game to break back immediately. After the exchange of breaks, both men became more solid behind their own serve as a tiebreaker approached.
Leading into the tiebreak, both men have dropped only 12 points on their serve (22/34) during the first 12 games of the match. Nevertheless, the closeness between the two soon diminished following an error-stricken tie-break performance from Dimitrov. Error after error, flew from Dimitrov’s racket as Murray cruised to five set points with little trouble. The tiebreaker was sealed after error no.18 from Dimitrov crashed into the net.
The momentum generated during the first set, placed Murray on good ground for the start of the second set, however, it was Dimitrov who went off guns blazing. Producing back-to-back breaks to love against the Murray serve, the world No.28 surged to 3-0. The unexpected turn of events infuriated Murray, who hit his bag with his racket repetitively during a changeover, prompting a warning from the umpire.
@andy_murray got warning for… killing his #UA bag with his racket plays vs @GrigorDimitrov in @MiamiOpen 3R pic.twitter.com/SdzR4T6OUU
— Radek Rogowski (@RadekATP) 28 March 2016
The 4-0 advantage gained by Dimitrov rapidly shrunk after the world No.2 clinch three consecutive games, with the assistance of a series of unforced errors from his opponent. Despite the mini comeback from the second seed, the damage was already inflicted as the Bulgarian extended his lead for a chance to serve for the set at 5-4. Squandering his first two set points, the set was finally won by the Dimitrov after a forehand unforced error from Murray.
In recent times Dimitrov has had a poor record against top-10 players. The last time he defeated Murray was at the 2014 Acapulco Open and he hasn’t defeated a top-10 player since Stan Wawrinka at the 2015 Madrid Masters. As the match approached the two-hour mark, the nerves started to trouble Dimitrov after a risky cross-court forehand shot backfired to hand Murray a break for 3-1 in the deciding set. The two-time Grand Slam champion was still not allowed to pull away as he dropped his serve in the following game to level the match yet again.
Dimitrov, there are still a couple games left in this match… pic.twitter.com/iRChVSfLzy
— Katie Bee (@breakpointsaved) 28 March 2016
Dimitrov’s final set surge continued as he grabbed another significant break to move to 5-3, a game away from one the biggest wins of his career. The unlikeliest of comebacks was completed when a long shot from Murray rewarded Dimitrov the match.
The shock triumph has taken the 24-year-old to the last eight in Miami for the first time in his career.
“I thought I was striking the ball pretty well, especially taking back the break in the first set. I was trying to be very composed.” Dimitrov said during his post-match interview with Sky Sports.
“I didn’t play my best set of tennis in the second set, but I was doing the right things and I was using the right opportunities which gave me the edge”.
At 28th in the world, Dimitrov is still far away from his 2014 best of 8th in the world. The 24-year-old stated that he doesn’t like to compare this year with 2014, however, he feels that he is improving as a player.
“There are a lot of things that are better”. He said.
“I’m just trying to focus on myself and my game. I just want to win matches. I’m sure if things goes this way, I am improving. I feel I’m improving every day I’m out on the court”.
Following Dimitrov’s win only three top-10 players remain in the tournaments – Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych.
Shot of the match
B
