(5) Grigor Dimitrov def. Frances Tiafoe 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(4)
Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the quarterfinals at the Rogers Cup in Toronto, but opponent Frances Tiafoe made him work hard for the win. The match was a battle the whole way through. When the statistics were tallied at the end of the tussle, Tiafoe won exactly one point more than Dmitrov: 106 points won by the American; 105 by Dimitrov.
As he did in all three sets, Tiafoe drew first blood in the opener. The teen broke with Dimitrov serving at 2-2, but he was broken directly back. Set one culminated in a lopsided tiebreak, which Tiafoe played poorly–giving the Bulgarian the early lead.
The No. 5 seed lost his way a bit in the second set, as a shaky service game at 3-3 gave Tiafoe the lead. It was the only break in the set, and though the American had some difficulty serving out the set he was able to hold onto the lead to tie the match at one set apiece.
Set three progressed similarly to the first. Tiafoe snagged the early break only to hand it back to his opponent. Tidy serving by both men forced another tiebreaker. The American once again took the early lead, and–once again–was unable to hold onto it. Dimitrov snagged the mini-break back at 2-4 and reeled off the next three points to earn his spot in the quarterfinals.
The Bulgarian awaits Kevin Anderson in the quarters on Friday.
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