The 18-year-old up-and-comer from Bulgaria is hailed as the second coming of Federer. He even employs Federer’s old coach, Peter Lundgren who thinks Dimitrov is better than Federer when he was that age. Last year, the Bulgarian won the Wimbledon and US Open junior titles. This year, he is trying to transfer to the professional tour this year. As in any transition to the pros, there are a lot of losses.
So far, he has made it to the quarterfinals on the challenger circuit in Cremona, Notting
ham, and Segovia. On the pro circuit, he made it to the second round in Queen’s Club and Rotterdam where he upset Tomas Berdych. Yesterday, he was 4-5 on the pro circuit.
Today, he met Jarkko Nieminen in Stockholm. The Fin returned to the tour after being sidelined with injury, so it would have been a good opportunity for the Bulgarian to upset the veteran. Nieminen instead spanked the Bulgarian teen 6-0 6-2 after just 50 minutes of work. The loss brings Dimitrov’s year-to-date record to 4-6, as the season comes to a close. It will be interesting to see Dimitrov's progress next year.
(Images: Olivier Morin/AFP/Getty Images)
The most anticipated matchup of the qualies this year was today’s matchup of Thomaz Bellucci and Grigor Dimitrov. It was the top-seeded qualifier versus last year’s US Open junior champion.
In the end, Bellucci had a routine win over the Bulgarian up-and-comer 6-4 6-3. Bellucci should have won this match since he is the older and more seasoned player, but Dimitrov is more than capable of staging the upset – just ask Tomas Berdych in Rotterdam.
The Brazilian will play American Scoville Jenkins tomorrow for a spot in the main draw. They have never met in ATP or lower-tiered events.
Thursday’s Results
Friday’s Order of Play
(Image: Denise/tennisfiend)
I managed to catch the opening day of the qualifiers at the US Open yesterday. There were actually a number of good matches to see. The two standout matches were the Thomaz Bellucci and Grigor Dimitrov.
Bellucci happens to be the top-seed of the qualifiers. The Brazilian managed to take apart Giancarlo Petrazzuola 6-2 6-0. He played a really solid match and almost made no mistakes. The current world no. 68, who more of a clay-courter, started out the year steadily progressing but then stalled. The 21 year old returned to the challenger circuit this spring, but returned to the majors this summer where he won his first tournament in Gstaad.
The other standout match featured the up-and-coming Dimitrov, who is already being compared to Federer and now has his old coach. The 18 year old beat German Tobias Kamke 6-3 7-5. Kamke was a much better opponent than Petrazzuola and went from being almost blown out to battling back for a competitive match.
In the worst case of tournament evils, Bellucci and Dimitrov now have to play each other in the second round. I do not know why Dimitrov did not receive a wildcard in the first place since he won the US Open juniors title last year. Despite this obvious crime, this should be the match of the week.
Qualifying Draw
Wednesday’s Schedule of Play
(Images: Denise/tennisfiend)
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria was trouble for Rafael Nadal last week in Rotterdam, and he was surely trouble for second-seed Gilles Simon today. The 17 year-old really took it to Simon and had the Frenchman on his heals the entire match. Eventually, the Bulgarian served for the match at 5-3 in the third set. Simon managed to break him and then rallied to win the next three games to win the match.
Simon will play German Rainer Schuettler next, and his side of the draw has opened up since Richard Gasquet pulled out of the tournament. He biggest challenge could be Gael Monfils in the semifinals if there are no surprises in their part of the draw. (Image: Open 13)
The Sofia Echo
For Dimitrov, it was another good showing in two weeks, and it will be only a matter of time until he pulls off the upset. The up-and-comer is already being touted as better than Federer when Federer was his age by Peter Lundgren, Federer’s old coach. We will see about that, but it looks like Dimitrov is on the verge of doing some damage this year, which should be fun to watch.
Panoramic
Frenchman Arnaud Clement upset seven-seed Marat Safin of Russia in a three set match that clocked in just under two hours. It looked like Safin was going to cruise to victory, but Clement stuck with the Russian to break him the second set. He took control of the match as Safin started to make more unforced errors and broke the Russian twice in the third set. Clement will play Mischa Zverev of Germany in the second round.
Imago
Singles Round of 32:
2 Gilles Simon (FRA) def. wc Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 4-6 6-3 7-5
Arnaud Clement (FRA) def. 7 Marat Safin (RUS) 4-6 6-3 6-2
Mischa Zverev (GER) def. Q Ilia Marchenko (UKR) 6-7(5) 6-3 6-4
Rainer Schuettler (GER) def. Q Laurent Recouderc (FRA) 6-1 6-4
Simone Bolelli (ITA) def. Q Richard Bloomfield (GBR) 7-6(5) 7-6(1)
Andreas Seppi (ITA) def. Q Jerzy Janowicz (POL) 7-6(5) 3-6 7-6(3)
Julien Benneteau (FRA) def. Fabrice Santoro (FRA) 4-6 6-4 6-2
Doubles Round of 16:
1 J. Knowle (AUT)/A. Ram (ISR) def. R. de Voest (RSA)/R. Wassen (NED) 7-6(7) 7-6(2)
M. Gicquel (FRA)/P-H.Mathieu (FRA) def. M. Youzhny (RUS)/M. Zverev (GER) 6-4 6-2
T. Berdych (VZE)/J. Hernych (CZE) vs. wc S. de Chaunac (FRA)/D. Guez (FRA) 6-2-7-5
City: Marseille, France
Surface: Indoor Hard
Championship Points: 250
2008 Singles Champion: Andy Murray
2008 Doubles Champions: Damm/Vizner
Open 13
Defending champion, Andy Murray pulled out of the tournament due to an ankle injury. This leaves Novak Djokovic, the top seed and eleven other French players to battle it out. Tomas Berdych, Marat Safin and Feliciano Lopez round out the other top seeds.
Gilles Simon, the top-ranked Frenchmen and the 2007 champion, is seated number two. He draws Grigor Dimitrov in the first round. The young Bulgarian gave Rafael Nadal some trouble in Rotterdam. If Simon beats Dimitrov, he could eventually meet Gasquet in the quarterfinals. Gasquet currently leads their head-to-head 5-0.
On the other side of the draw, Djokovic will have an easier draw but could meet Safin in the quarterfinals. He may find himself in trouble if Safin is on the top of his game, like last year at Wimbledon. Should Djokovic make it to the semifinals, he could possibly meet Frenchmen, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Tsonga leads their head-to-head 3-1 and has won their last three meetings.
Tournament Draw
Singles / Doubles
Monday's Matches:
Singles Round of 32:
5 Tomas Berdych (CZE) vs. Mikhail Youzhny (RUS)
8 Feliciano Lopez (ESP) vs. Ivan Ljubicic (CRO)
Teimuraz Gabashvili (RUS) vs. Dmitry Tursunov (RUS)
Jan Hernych (CZE) vs. Kristof Vliegen (BEL)
Doubles Round of 16:
2 M. Damm (CZE) /R. Lindstedt (SWE) def. A. Clement (FRA) /M. Llodra (FRA)
W. Moodie (RSA) /D. Norman (BEL) vs.J. Brunstrom (SWE) /J. J. Rojer (NED)
Monday's Order of Play
AP
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria tested Rafeal Nadal in a three set match that lasted 145 minutes. Of course, Nadal would prevail in the end. The match was pretty much even until Nadal wore down the Bulgarian teen. It was a good test for Nadal and a good showing for Dimitrov. Nadal will play Jo-Wilfried Tsongas in the quarterfinals, who beat Dmitry Tursunov in straight sets today.
AP
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Gael Monfils had a routine win over countrymen, Micheal Llodra. Monfils sent the defending champion packing in two sets. He served well and played an all-around solid match. Monfils will play another Frenchmen, Julien Benneteau in the next round.
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Poor Michael Llodra would also lose his doubles match with his partner Arnaud Clement to the fourth-seeds Knowle/Ram.
AP
Croat Mario Ancic upset fourth-seed Gilles Simon of France in three sets. Ancic played a solid game while Simon play particularly well. It is good to see Ancic in good shape and playing well. He will go on to play Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the quarterfinals.
AP
Singles Round of 16:
1 Rafael Nadal def. wc Grigor Dimitrov 7-5 3-6 6-2
2 Andrew Murray def. Andreas Seppi 7-6(4) 7-5
Mario Ancic def. 4 Gilles Simon 6-4 3-6 6-3
5 Gael Monfils def. Michael Llodra 6-4 6-4
7 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga def. Dmitry Tursunov 7-6(6) 6-2
LL Marc Gicquel def. Paul-Henri Mathieu 6-4 6-3
Doubles Quarterfinals:
1 D. Nestor/N. Zimonjic def. S. Bolelli/A. Seppi 7-6(2) 6-4
4 J. Knowle/A. Ram def. A. Clement /M. Llodra 6(9)-7 7-5 10-5
Seventeen year-old, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria defeated world number 23, Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic today 4-6 6-3 6-4 in a 127 minute first-round match. Dimitrov is currently ranked number 478 in the world and a talented up-and-comer, who won juniors titles at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year. He should face Rafael Nadal in the second round, whose first round match against Simon Bolleli of Italy will be on Wednesday.
ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament
Posts
