Bulgaria’s Dimitrov bounces back to advance to US Open fourth round
Grigor Dimitrov recovered after dropping the first set against David Goffin of Belgium to advance to the fourth round of US Open late on August 31, setting up a clash against Frenchman Gael Monfils.
The match had to be rescheduled from the Arthur Ashe stadium and seventh-seed Dimitrov look very unsettled in the first set, losing 0-6 to Goffin, who came into the tournament fresh from a 25-win streak, snapped by his semi-final loss to Jerzy Janowicz in Winston-Salem.
The Belgian looked undaunted by the big occasion and deserved his lead, but Dimitrov recovered in the second frame, converting his sole break point and saving three on his own service to take the set 6-3.
As the match progressed, Dimitrov settled in and steadily improved on service, increasingly winning points on his first serve.
In the third set, the Bulgarian raced to a 4-0 lead but was pegged back to 4-4 because of a slew of unforced errors. He then broke back and served out to win the set. In the fourth frame, Dimitrov again took a 4-0 lead but this time gave Goffin no chance to sneak back into the match, finishing it off with a final scoreline of 0-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-1 in just over an hour and 20 minutes of play.
Dimitrov will next face 20th-seed Monfils, who defeated fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Dimitrov and Monfils have split their previous two meetings, with the Bulgarian winning their last one in the Bucharest semi-finals earlier this year, when Monfils retired 1-5 down in the first set.
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(Photo: Shinya Suzuki/flickr.com)
