Grigor Dimitrov has ended his two-and-a-half-year title drought by defeating Kei Nishikori 6-2, 2-6, 6-3, at the Brisbane International.
Dimitrov’s run to the Brisbane final was reminiscent of the form which took him to the last four at the 2014 Wimbledon semifinals. Already producing wins over Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic this week, it is the first time that the Bulgarian has defeated a duo of top 10 players in the same tournament. Meanwhile, Nishikori’s route to the final saw him down three-time grand slam champion Stan Wawrinka in the semifinals.
After enduring a tentative opening service game, where he was forced to save two break points, Dimitrov dominated the opening set against his rival. Playing with high intensity and hitting a series of winners deep in the court, the first breakthrough was secured after a lengthy exchange between the two concluded with a Nishikori error into the net to gift Dimitrov a break for 4-2. Placed in a commanding position, the Bulgarian showed no fear as he attacked Nishikori’s shots. The tactic was one that rewarded him the set after another long rally ended with a Nishikori error to hand his rival the double break.
Dimitrov’s encouraging display was soon tamed by Nishikori, who gave him a taste of his own medicine. The momentum switch occurred at 2-2 in the second set. Storming to 40-0 against the Dimitrov serve, Nishikori drew out the error to secure the breakthrough. The success was only the third time Dimitrov has lost his serve in the entire tournament. Steamrolling his way through the remainder of the set, Nishikori claimed eight consecutive points behind his serve to force a decider.
Despite Nishikori’s resurgence in the match, injury concerns once again halted his offensive. Taking a time out prior to the decisive set, Dimitrov was able to regroup his focus in the match. As a result, the disparity between the two was no more with each player displaying moments of brilliance with their shot-making. With every point proving crucial at the match approached its climax, Dimitrov was the one who prevailed. Refusing to succumb to pressure, back-to-back Nishikori errors awarded him the break and a chance to serve for the title. The opportunity was one seized with ease. After a lengthy title drought, Dimitrov’s curse was finally broken with the help of error No.25 from Nishikori.
“It’s been pretty emotional the last year or so,” Dimitrov said. “This trophy means a lot. These 10 days I’ve had here have been the most fun I’ve had on a tennis court.”
During his Brisbane triumph, which was played in front of a record-breaking crowd of 8264 people, Dimitrov produced seven aces and 24 winners. The title is set to elevated him inside the top 15 on the Emirates rankings for the first time since June 2015.
