Dimitrov ousted by Gasquet at Wimbledon
Grigor Dimitrov’s terrible year continued with a third-round exit at Wimbledon and a straight-sets loss against France’s Richard Gasquet (3-6, 4-6, 4-6).
There was little to separate the two players – both won about 70 per cent of points on their respective serves, and although Dimitrov made more unforced errors (24 to 13), he also had more winners (36 to 21) – but Gasquet won the crucial points, converting three of four breakpoints in the match, while Dimitrov went 0-for-5.
Despite not playing poorly, Dimitrov never really looked like he could push his opponent into mistakes, with Gasquet playing efficiently rather than flashy. The loss takes Dimitrov’s career record against Gasquet to 0-5.
A semi-finalist here last year, which pushed him into the ATP top 10 for the first time in his career, the Bulgarian will slide down to at least 15th, possibly more depending on the progress of his closest rivals, when the next rankings are announced after Wimbledon ends.
Dimitrov, who had won three titles on different surfaces at this point last year, is yet to reach a single final this season and made early exits in his two title defences.
It unclear where Dimitrov will play next – he skipped the European summer clay season last year after his deep run at Wimbledon, turning up for the pre-US Open hard-court tournaments in North America in August (where he reached the semi-final in Toronto before losing in the US Open fourth round).
(Photo: JCDecaux Innovate/flickr.com)
