Grigor Dimitrov repeats Grand Slam title in the same year as in 2014 | ATP Tour

US Open

Dimitrov repeats Grand Slam CF in the same year as in 2014

The Bulgarian prevented Rublev’s comeback in the fourth round of the US Open

September 01, 2024

This summer’s American hard-court swing has not been the brightest of Grigor Dimitrov’s career. A victory in his debut at the ATP Masters 1000 in Canada seemed like the only joy before landing at the US Open. However, at Flushing Meadows he has rediscovered his best form to make it to the quarter-finals.

Dimitrov, seeded ninth in New York, knocked out No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev in the fourth round 6-3, 7-6(3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3 in three hours and 39 minutes to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the second time this season (he also did so at Roland Garros).

This is not the first time the Bulgarian has achieved this feat in a single year. He did it a decade ago, when he reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open (l. to Rafael Nadal) and at Wimbledon (l. in SF to Novak Djokovic) in 2014.

On this occasion, the No. 9 in the PIF ATP Rankings has a 13-3 record in Grand Slams this season, while at Flushing Meadows he has two quarter-final appearances (also in 2019, where he advanced to the semi-finals).

Dimitrov at the Grand Slams in 2024
Australian Open – 3R (l. to Borges)

Roland Garros – CF (p. con Sinner)

Wimbledon – 4R (l. to Medvedev) *withdrew

US Open — CF (will play vs Tiafoe or Popyrin)

The former world No. 3 levelled the Lexus ATP Head2Head against Rublev (4-4) and for the first time they needed to go to the deciding set to decide the winner. Their Grand Slam history includes two meetings, one at the 2018 Australian Open for Dimitrov and another, at the 2017 US Open, for Rublev.

This time, five sets were needed for the first time in the rivalry, because both were aware that they had a great opportunity to advance far in New York, in an edition where the big favorites such as Carlos Alcaraz or Novak Djokovic are no longer in the draw.

Dimitrov, who raised his ace count to 17, only needed a break at love in the fourth game of the match to take the first set 6-3. Both players held their serve in the second set to reach a tie-break, where the Bulgarian was able to recover from a 1-3 deficit and score six consecutive points (7-3).

In that scenario, with a two-set lead, Dimitrov breathed a sigh of relief, while Rublev refused to give up early. The world No. 6 won 12 of the next 16 games to draw level at two sets and both sides played a coin toss to make it to the quarterfinals.

Dimitrov was more combative and more accurate with his groundstrokes than in the first two hours of the match, repeating the same script as in the first set. One more break in the fourth game – he converted 3/10 in the match – was enough to seal his place among the top eight in New York. Now Frances Tiafoe or Alexei Popyrin await him.

Did you know that…?

Grigor Dimitrov on Sunday reached 450 victories on the ATP Tour, in addition to becoming the first player born in the 90s to reach 300 victories on hard courts (300-184).