Grigor Dimitrov gained at least some measure of revenge for a hard-fought loss at Wimbledon this summer when he defeated Holger Rune 6-3, 7-5 in the China Open second round on Sunday night. Dimitrov prevailed after one hour and 32 minutes, tying up their head-to-head series 1-1 following a 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), 6-3 loss at the All-England Club.
The 19th-ranked Bulgarian broke Rune four times and was competitive in just about every return game in the second set. Dimitrov finally earned the crucial second-set breakthrough in the 12th and final game, capitalizing on his third match point by bossing a rally and finishing it with a forehand drop-volley winner.
“I’ve lost quite a few close matches this year against a few players like that, so I really wanted to step up my game a little bit more,” Dimitrov explained. “I still felt I could have done a few things a little bit better, but a win is a win. I just need to think a little bit about what I can improve. From the first match to now I see a few things that are better, but I still believe I can top it off a little bit more.”
The 32-year-old will probably have to do exactly that on Monday with Jannik Sinner on the other side of the net. Sinner crushed Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2, 6-0, requiring just one hour and 7 minutes to earn his quarterfinal spot.
Elsewhere in the top half of the Beijing draw, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 6-2 and Casepr Ruud outlasted Tomas Martin Etcheverry 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(7).
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nice one, Grigor
What’s up with Holgar? 🙁