Staff Reporter.
Grigor Dimitrov dispatched American 10th seed Frances Tiafoe in straight sets with a convincing 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory on Sunday to move into the fourth round of Wimbledon where he will meet Danish sixth seed Holger Rune.
Tiafoe arrived at the All England Club having captured his first grasscourt title at the Stuttgart Open last month but it was the experienced Dimitrov, a former semifinalist here, who prevailed over two days.
The first things Tiafoe highlighted when asked to give his thoughts on Dimitrov prior to the match were the Bulgarian’s first serve, his net game and his slice.
Tiafoe had clearly done his homework, having beaten Dimitrov four years ago at the Australian Open in a last-16 clash he described as “an absolute war”, but this time the American had no answer for the variety of shots in his opponent’s arsenal.
Dimitrov did not disappoint and was virtually unstoppable on serve, firing 13 aces and winning 92 per cent of his first serve points to go two sets up and leave Tiafoe on the ropes before play was suspended on Saturday early in the third set.
When they resumed on Sunday, Dimitrov consolidated an early break and Tiafoe lost his cool in no time, taking his frustration out on a ball by launching it into orbit between points.
Dimitrov, on the other hand, was calm and collected as the 32-year-old went about his business with powerful shots from the baseline and flawless touches at the net to fire 33 winners, leaving the younger and faster Tiafoe with no answers.
The Bulgarian brought up three match points without breaking a sweat and sealed victory with a deft volley at the net after sending Tiafoe desperately scrambling for a return.
Safiullin knocks our Shapovalov
Unseeded Russian Roman Safiullin reached his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal when he secured a shock 3-6 6-3 6-1 6-3 win over Denis Shapovalov.
Safiullin looked out for the count after Shapovalov made a strong start to the fourth-round tie but he weathered the storm and his steady approach paid dividends as a misfiring serve and injury issuesled to his opponent self-destructing.
“I don’t think I realised it before, but going to the third round of a Grand Slam for the first time, then to a fourth round and now to the quarterfinals, I’m super happy,” Safiullin said in his on-court interview.
“I hope Denis can recover soon.”
Canadian 26th seed Shapovalov raced through the first set before Safiullin hit back to break in the sixth game of the second set courtesy of a double fault, an advantage he would not relinquish.
After the match was all square, Shapovalov committed two more double faults in a dismal start to the third set as Safiullin broke and then held to love for a 2-0 lead.
Minutes later, Safiullin had a 4-1 double-break after yet another double fault from Shapovalov, the seventh of 11.
The situation went from bad to worse for Shapovalov in the fourth set when he appeared to aggravate an injury to his left leg, which left him hobbling around in pain and struggling to cover the court.
He was quickly put out of his misery by the Russian, who broke and then closed out the victory on serve.
Safiullin becomes just the 12th man to reach the quarterfinals on his Wimbledon main-draw debut, adding to the likes of Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Nick Kyrgios.
“It’s definitely something special. I never knew these guys also were among the first ones to do this,” said Safiullin, who won the Australian Open juniors title in 2015 but only broke into the ATP top 100 last year.
“It’s special and I’ll do my best in the quarterfinals to go as far as I can here.
“It’s been hard work, but mentally I’ve changed since getting into the top 100. I’ve gotten a little more confidence in my game and I think it helps a lot.”
Rublev tames Bublik fightback
Andrey Rublev reaching the quarterfinals is one of the most predictable outcomes at a Grand Slam but there was nothing remotely routine about his five-set win over Alexander Bublik, his fourth round opponent.
Rublev, who has now reached the quarters eight times at the Grand Slams but has never made the last four, was seemingly cruising into the last eight when he took the first two sets on Centre Court.
Yet his Kazakh opponent somehow conjured a way back into the contest and ensured it went the distance before seventh seed Rublev wrapped up a 7-5 6-3 6-7(6) 6-7(5) 6-4 victory.
Had the Russian lost it would have been a remarkably bitter pill to swallow, having been two points away from victory in the third set tiebreak, passed up two match points in the fourth and led 5-3 in the second breaker only to lose four points in a row.
Having secured a decisive break to go 5-3 up in the fifth, Rublev pulled off one of the most remarkable shots of the tournament so far with a diving forehand winner to bring up match point and then banged down an ace to finish the contest.
“Probably it was the most lucky shot ever,” he said in his on-court interview. “I don’t think I can do it (the shot) one more time.”
Rublev could be known as Mr Quarterfinal at the Grand Slams and his victory ensured he will now have a full set of last-eight appearances at the majors, having never reached that stage at Wimbledon before.
Sinner in Tetchy mood but reaches quarterfinals
Eighth seed Jannik Sinner reached the quarterfinals for the second successive year as he broke the stubborn resistance of unseeded Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan with a 7-6(4) 6-4 6-3 victory.
The 21-year-old Italian’s progress was relatively routine although he looked tetchy at times as he twice got involved in arguments with umpire Marijana Veljovic.
He has never gone beyond the quarterfinals at any of the four Grand Slams but now has a great opportunity to break new ground with 92nd-ranked Russian Roman Safiullin up next.
Galan, ranked 85th in the world, was solid throughout the opening set and Sinner looked rattled in the tiebreak when forced to replay a point after winning a Hawkeye challenge.
He did not allow his debate with Veljovic to distract him too long though as he took the opening set.
Sinner’s mood was hardly helped as he dropped serve at the start of the second set and then squandered five break points in the next game, again having words with the match official.
Four more break points went begging in Galan’s next service game but Sinner did finally get back on level terms for 4-4 and broke serve again to move two sets clear.
The third set was more straightforward as the Italian made it through to the second week.
Sinner, who has dropped only one set so far, is the first Italian man to reach the quarterfinals twice at Wimbledon.
“Today was a tough day. I was not feeling great on the court but I managed to win the most important points,” he said. “Usually I’m calm but sometimes it happens, there were some tough calls on my side.”