WHAT HAPPENED: Renaissance man Grigor Dimitrov painted a masterpiece in Stadium 17 on Friday to ease into the 2024 US Open fourth round for the first time since 2019 when he went all the way to the semifinals.
In a comeback season of highs, this match had to be one of his crowning moments, as the No. 9 seeded Bulgarian pummeled Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, on the show court at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.
Dimitrov is once again one of the highlights on the ATP Tour this season as he reclaimed a spot in the world’s Top 10 for the first time since 2018. He opened the season by winning in Brisbane for his first title since 2017. He went on to reach the Miami final where he beat Top 10 stars Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.
The 33-year-old has been rock steady and solid in the Grand Slams. He made the Australian Open and Wimbledon third round and the French Open quarterfinals.
One of a handful of players in the tournament who is 30 years old and older, Dimitrov put on an old school clinic of solid tennis in all facets of the game to dominate Griekspoor in a speedy one hour and 39 minutes.
The winning formula was the old one-two punch—first serve followed by groundstroke winner.
The numbers are out of this world. Dimitrov won 92% of his first serves, and had 11 aces and 29 winners. Griekspoor reached deuce on the Bulgarian’s serves once. In a flourish, Dimitrov finished the match with a service winner.
Taking the court less than 24 hours after his compatriot’s Botic van De Zandschulp’s stunning upset of Alcaraz rocked the tournament, but Griekspoor was never able to find the same magic.
His frustration boiled over in the seventh game of the second set when, after committing back to back double faults to fall behind, the Dutchman hurled his racquet on the court, breaking it and picking up a racquet abuse warning.
WHAT IT MEANS: Up next will be a familiar foe in No. 6 Andrey Rublev with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line. This will be the eighth career meeting between the two, interestingly enough all on outdoor or indoor hard court.
Rublev holds a 4-3 edge and won their last match in Shanghai in 2023. Dimitrov’s last win was in 2022 in Vienna. They have played twice in Grand Slams, the pair’s first match right here at the US Open where Rublev won in three sets.
MATCH POINT: In a post-match news conference earlier in the week, Dimitrov acknowledged where he is in his tennis career. “Clearly, I’m closer to the end than the beginning, but I feel like I have so much in front of me.”
How much more is ahead of him as he enters the second week of the US Open?
