A lacklustre Grigor Dimitrov survived a major scare as he edged out Mackenzie McDonald 4-6 6-2 6-4 0-6 8-6 to advance to the third round of the Australian Open.
Despite the result the world number three got off to the worst possible start after a sloppy beginning saw him give the break of serve to his American opponent. McDonald remained calm and collected as he hit the ball cleanly. No breaks of serve occurred as the world number 186 served out the first set in 40 minutes.
A frustrated Dimitrov started to motivate himself in the second set as he started to fire up his one handed backhand. A loose game by the American handed the Bulgarian a 4-2 lead and some momentum for him to build. Dimitrov’s athleticism was on show at the end of the second set as he broke McDonald again to wrap up the second set, 6-2.
The third set was a scrappy affair as both men created and wasted break point opportunities. Both men shared breaks in games five and six as they knew this was a crucial point in the match. After lots of errors in the set, Dimitrov found another gear and managed to break McDonald in the tenth game as he grabbed the set 6-4.
Surely the momentum was with Dimitrov, now? Apparently not, as McDonald used agility and hard hitting to race through the fourth set, breaking three times to force a decider, 6-0.
The final set was nervy occasion for both as the crowd was seduced in this Wednesday night thriller. McDonald made some gutsy decisions and challenges that got the crowd cheering for the young American. Both men showed mental fortitude as they were under pressure on a number of occasions. Under the most heated of circumstances it was McDonald who blinked in the 14th game to hand Dimitrov victory.
It was by no means a classic performance but the roar of delight shows how much it meant to the Bulgarian to win that match. As for McDonald he can hold his head up high to perform like that against the world number three is spectacular.
However it is the Bulgarian who survives and will now play Russian youngster Andrey Rublev who defeated former finalist Marcos Baghdatis, 6-4 6-7(5) 6-4 6-2. The Russian knocked Dimitrov out of the US Open last year and will hope to do the same on Friday.
Nick Kyrgios also moved into the third round today with an emphatic 7-5 6-4 7-6(5) over Serbia’s Viktor Troicki. The Australian continued to look impressive and boosted his chances of going deep in Melbourne. He will now play 16th seed Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the last 32.
