LONDON: National pride was just as important as winning for Grigor Dimitrov in his maiden match at the ATP World Tour Finals.
The world No.6 became the first Bulgarian player to feature in the event as he battled his way past Dominic Thiem 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, in a thrilling encounter. The marathon 142-minute fist-clenching clash saw both players delight the animated crowd. Dimitrov secured the win with the help of eight aces and converted five out of his eight break point opportunities.
“I’m not going to lie – I was pretty nervous, my first match out here,” Dimitrov told the BBC.
“I’m just very grateful to win that match, especially in that manner. It’s never easy to come out here and play for the first time.”
During a match of fine margins, it was Thiem’s unforced errors that let him down during the opening set. Dimitrov settled down almost instantly, hitting an array of winners and moving seemingly effortlessly around the court. Reminding fans of why he has the nickname ‘baby Federer.’ Thiem also illustrated glimmers of his talent, but struggled to find the right balance in his shot-making. The fragile play of the Austrian’s game cost him dearly in the sixth game after a forehand drifted long, securing Dimitrov a break for 4-2. Triggering chants of ‘Grigor’ from the crowd.
Simply sublime from @GrigorDimitrov… #NittoATPFinals pic.twitter.com/NHgfGkpPZZ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 13 November 2017
Firmly in pole position, Dimitrov sealed the opening set with 14 winners to only five unforced errors. Clinching the 6-4 lead with the help of another costly Thiem error.
Despite Dimitrov clinching the lead, Thiem refused to give up. The Austrian has already played 27 tournaments in 2017 prior to this week, but showed no signs of fatigued. It was like a game of chess on the court with each player being careful with their movement. Ten games went by before a break point occurred at 5-5 on Thiem’s serve. Dimitrov was unable to seize the moment after some nifty serving from his rival. The failure to do so proved costly as the fourth seed secured the breakthrough he wanted to force the match into a decider.
The titanic showdown between two players, positioned to one day fill the void when the era of the big four comes to an end, continued to delight the British crowd. Thiem kept threatening, but it was Dimitrov who prevailed by grabbing the break for 4-3 in the decider. Continuing to avoid danger, he recovered from a 0-30 deficit in the following game to move to four points away from victory.
Still, it was far from over for the former Wimbledon semifinalist as Thiem roared back to level 5-5. Once again it appeared as if the tides were turning, but a disastrous service game from the Austrian positioned Dimitrov back within touching distance of the win. This time he didn’t buckle under the pressure after a Thiem backhand shank sent him over the finish line.
“This is where I always wanted to be at, among the top players.” Dimitrov commented about his presence in London. “Also being able to come through in my first match, it’s only positive.”
Despite losing, Thiem is still within contention of qualifying for the semifinals of the tournament. Although he may need to defeat both David Goffin and Rafael Nadal.
“It was I think way better performance than the last weeks, last tournaments, but still not perfect, obviously.” Thiem analysed in an upbeat manner.
“I think it (the match) was pretty open until the end. I think there were some things just not good enough. I think he deserved to win.”
The win is sweet revenge for Dimitrov, who levels his head-to-head record against Thiem to 2-2.
