Playing some of the most consistent tennis of his career at 32 years old, Grigor Dimitrov has been red hot throughout the second half of the 2023 season. In fact, if he wins the Rolex Shanghai Masters–and given the draw it’s a real possibility–he will be in a realistic Nitto ATP Finals contention.
Dimitrov is ranked No. 19 in the world, will likely climb to at least 16th if he reaches the Shanghai semifinals, and would be No. 11 in the race to Turin with a title. The Bulgarian has won multiple matches at nine of his last 10 events, including victories this fortnight over Aleksandar Vukic, Karen Khachanov, and top seed Carlos Alcaraz.
Up next for Dimitrov on Friday is a quarterfinal contest against Nicolas Jarry, who leads the head-to-head series 2-0. Jarry has prevailed twice on clay; 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) four years ago in Barcelona and 7-6(1), 6-1 in the Geneva final right before the French Open.
Jarry is enjoying by far the best tennis of his career. The 28-year-old Chilean is just three spots behind Dimitrov in the rankings and only two spots behind in both the live rankings and the 2023 race. He owns clay-court titles in Santiago and Geneva to go along with a semifinal showing in Rio de Janeiro and a fourth-round performance at Roland Garros. Although Jarry hasn’t been quite as successful on hard courts, he reached the U.S. Open third round, the Beijing quarters, and has posted Shanghai wins over Terence Atmane, Lorenzo Sonego, and Diego Schwartzman.
With Dimitrov playing better than he was this spring and now on a hard court, the tide will likely turn from what transpired in Geneva. Jarry is obviously the bigger hitter, but too many balls back and too much variety off Dimitrov’s racket should make the difference.
Pick: Dimitrov in 2
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