WHAT HAPPENED: After a nearly five-hour battle against No. 14 seed Grigor Dimitrov, Marton Fucsovics of Hungary is moving on to Round 3 at the 2020 US Open. The final score: 6-7, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1.
For the first two sets, the players seemed evenly matched, trading sets won in tiebreaks and racking up similar statistics in terms of winners and errors. Indeed, the only obvious difference between the two men was their world rankings: the Hungarian, ranked No. 66 in the world, trails the Bulgarian by more than 30 spots.
Tied at one set apiece, Dimitrov finally started to display the kind of shot-making that has brought him his biggest wins—and by that we mean his upset of Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the 2019 US Open. The Bulgarian’s return of serve improved, he hit eight winners (to his opponent’s three) and finally made quick work of the third set, 6-3.
The fourth set saw Dimitrov continue to apply pressure to the increasingly error-prone Fucsovics. But then it was Fucsovics’ turn to come from behind, and the lower-ranked player reeled off three fast games to take the set, 6-4.
And so, a fifth set would decide the match between two players who looked remarkably chill—both in temperament and in reaction to the day’s heat and humidity. While Dimitrov played spirited points, he struggled to hold serve and found himself down 1-4. Meanwhile, at the net, his opponent pulled off some highlight-reel-worthy volleys. The match was nearly five hours old when the Hungarian closed out the fifth set, 6-1.
WHAT IT MEANS: There were two notable Bulgarians in Round 2 matches today. On the women’s side, Tsvetana Pironkova staged a stunning upset of Garbiñe Muguruza, 7-5, 6-3. Pironkova will take on Donna Vekic for a place in the Round of 16. Having defeated the Bulgarian man, Fucsovics will face Frances Tiafoe next, who also survived a five-set match, beating Australian John Millman.
MATCH POINT: We’re guessing Dimitrov will be less and less happy to see the Hungarian’s name in his draw. The two players have only met once before today, but quite recently, at the 2020 Western & Southern Open. In the match played on August 24, Fucsovics also prevailed, winning 7-5, 4-6, 6-2.
