Two-time Grand Slam semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov will aim to remain undefeated when he will take on Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain in the final round-robin match of the ATP World Tour Finals in London on Friday. Will Dimitrov be able to achieve a 3-0 record in the Pete Sampras Group or will the fans witness an upset at the O2 Arena tonight?
World No. 6 Dimitrov has already sealed his place in the semi-finals of the season ending finale as the winner of the group following his triumphs over the 4th seeded Dominic Thiem and Belgium’s David Goffin in his first two matches.
However, the Bulgarian will want to keep up with the good work he has been doing in the British capital as the win over Carreno Busta will give him the much needed momentum before his big last 4 duel against Jack Sock on Saturday.
“Every match is important to me… It doesn’t matter if I’ve qualified or not”, said Dimitrov. “I’m just going to follow my rhythm and what I’ve been doing right and keep on playing. I’m not here just to participate. I’m here to come out and win”.
On the other hand, Carreno Busta cannot advance through to the semis, following his tough three-set defeat at the hands of Thiem in his first match of the event. The London alternate, who replaced an injured Rafael Nadal from the competition, was at a huge disadvantage right from the very beginning as he could participate in only two matches instead of the three by other players.
But that reality didn’t prevent him from giving his all against Thiem as he fought hard to stretch him to a decider. In the end, it didn’t prove enough as the World No. 4 prevailed in two hours and six minutes. Friday’s contest in essence is a dead-rubber as Carreno Busta cannot move beyond the round-robin stage of the event and that reality could give him the license to approach the match as if it was a free hit.
“I hope to do well against Grigor and make it another good match,” Carreno Busta added. “I want to go to the offseason with a good taste.”
Head-to-head: Grigor and Pablo have met five times before on the ATP circuit with the Bulgarian leading the man from Spain 3-2. While Dimitrov won their initial three encounters handsomely, Carreno Busta has won their subsequent two matches, on the red dirt of Madrid in 2015 and at the French Open in 2017. However, Dimitrov is in red-hot form at the moment and he should be able to complete a clean sweep of his round-robin matches with an easy win in this contest.
