-Paris, France
It had been a long time coming but Grigor Dimitrov finally put together a quality match against a top ranked opponent and he picked a good time to do so. Dimitrov, who has been struggling mightily of late rallied from two sets to one down to take out the No. 11 seed Marin Cilic 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 in four hours and 24 minutes on the brand new Court Simonne Mathieu.
Dimitrov has been struggling so much recently he had to go through qualifying at last weeks event in Geneva just to get into the main draw. He then lost in the first round. However, so far at the French Open he has picked up a pair of wins, both in five sets to match the best result of his career at the years second Grand Slam. Dimitrov also reached the third round on three previous occasions including in 2018.
Cilic drew first blood in the opening set after a Dimitrov double fault gave the Croatian a 5-3 lead. But the 30-year old was unable to serve out the set handed the break back in the following game. The players went to a tiebreak and after another double fault from the Bulgarian, it gave Cilic a 4-3 lead, a lead he maintained winning the next three points to take the tiebreak.
Dimitrov got the advantage in the tenth game of the second set. Cilic attempted a drop shot on set point but Dimitrov found the open court converting just his second break in ten opportunities winning it 6-4.
The only break of the third came on a sloppy game from Dimitrov who double faulted twice and fired a backhand into the net giving Cilic a 4-3 lead. He held his next two service games and went up two sets to one. Despite being down in the match, Dimitrov’s numbers were still better than his opponents. He had three more winners, won four more points and had a better first serve percentage.
In the fourth set neither player could get a break of serve including a long third game which needed five deuces. Another tiebreak was needed and it was Dimitrov who got off to a good start with a pair of drop shot winners. He also got some luck as a net chord which looked to be heading out spun back into the middle of the court giving him a 5-1 lead. An ace, one of 15 overall, sent the match to a decider.
The 2017 ATP Finals winner capitalized early in the fifth breaking Cilic in the first game after he hit a forehand into the net. The point of the match came two games later as Dimitrov read a Cilic overhand perfectly getting in position for the return then racing up to the net to get a drop shot returning it with a perfect angle and then following that up with a volley into the open court. The packed stadium got on their feet thanks to the help of Dimitrov raising his arms in the air.
The Bulgarian got a second break to go up 5-2 in the final set after the tenth double fault from Cilic. Dimitrov began whincing in the next game, his previously injured shoulder looked to be bothering him after playing his tenth set over three days. After several uncomfortable whinces, he ended up giving away one of the breaks away which he had earned.
Luckily though for him Cilic was beginning to struggle as well. A weak forehand into the net followed by a backhand errors gave the match to Dimitrov.
“Best of five, on clay, you can be down by two sets and a break and something can just happen,” said the World No. 46. “I have always felt that every time I competed on clay, you are always going to get, like, a little chance. I felt early on in the match I had way too many opportunities. I knew my numbers were bad. I knew I was playing sort of a better tennis, but I could never get those break points and, I mean, I had to stay in the match. That was that, for me.”
“He played an unbelievable tiebreak to win the fourth and, you know, just kept the pressure up,” said Cilic. “And, you know, I felt I just dropped a little bit in that fifth set, missed few balls that I was not missing in that first part of the match, you know, which can happen after four hours of play. But, you know, credit to him. He was playing really well. And I think what he did well was serving well when he was in the trouble.”
Dmitrov finished with 60 winners, 15 of them aces, won 18 of 22 points at the net and had a 63-percent first serve percentage. He’s now spent seven hours and 26 minutes on court over his first two matches. He will now face the No. 24 seed Stan Wawrinka in the third round. Wawrinka took out two-time clay court winner in 2019 Christian Garin in straight sets.
“Every win that I have now, I appreciate it,” said Dimitrov. “I don’t really think of who I’m playing against. I just want to have those wins. I mean, I have pretty much played against everybody out there. It was a very, very important match to me, without a doubt, though….I feel great, and I’m very, so to speak, focused and excited for what’s ahead.”
@Sportshorn
