At Paris Masters, Dimitrov Shows It’s All About Believing In His Game

Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov (photo: Brigitte Urban)

PARIS/WASHINGTON, November 3, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)

Grigor Dimitrov has been making the tennis world take notice with his recent string of vintage triumphs, including his recent take down of World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai en route to a semifinal finish.

This week, at the Rolex Paris Masters, the 32-year-old Bulgarian has tried to stay focused – round by round – while believing in himself. It’s an attitude that has served him well in the past, such as when he rose to World No. 3 in 2017 and won the ATP Finals title, and it’s serving him well in the present, too. He strung together wins over Lorenzo Musetti, No. 3 seed Daniil Medvedev and Alexander Bublik to reach the quarterfinal round of the ATP Tour’s last Masters 1000 event of the season.

After all, you just never know when you’re going to have a good week – and this has been a very good one for Dimitrov, indeed.

The World No. 17 Dimitrov’s week to remember got better as he defeated No. 11 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, in one hour and 38 minutes to open quarterfinal play in Accor Arena Friday afternoon. It was Dimitrov’s fourth career victory over the World No. 11 Hurkacz in four meetings and the second this year. He took advantage of his opponent’s slow start. However, ask Dimitrov and he’ll tell you he never takes anything for granted.

“You just never know when, you know, you’re going to have a good week, where things can go your way,” Dimitrov said in his press conference after beating Medvedev in the second round. “It’s all about balance. …

“I had to keep on believing in my game, as well, and I had to keep on the work that I was putting in, as well, on and off the court. There were so many weeks that I was grinding through practice and in the fitness room and eating habits and sleeping habits, and God knows how many other things I’ve tried overall, just to put myself in a position to play matches like this and be able to sustain the level and all that.

The Bulgarian struck 30 winners, including nine aces, and broke Hurkacz’s serve three times while outpointing the Polish star 80-65. The loss, just the third in the past 18 matches at Masters 1000-level, eliminated Hurkacz from qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. He began the day in ninth place with an outside chance of making the eight-player year-end tournament.

“My body is feeling well for now, that’s the most important thing,” Dimitrov said in his post-match interview. “My head is good. If I’m able to play like that on a consistent basis throughout every game, I put myself in a position to do better.

“Today was no different. A completely different opponent again. Every day you have to adapt, and I’ve been able to do so these four or five days.”

Dimitrov’s 40th victory of the season (40-20) – and his 10th career ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal triumph – advanced him to Saturday’s semifinals against  No. 7 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, who eased past No. 16 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia, 6-3, 6-4, in an hour and 20 minutes in Friday afternoon’s second quarterfinal to record his 300th career tour-level victory. Tsitsipas hit 25 winners, broke Khachanov three times and outpointed his opponent 57-46 to reach his third consecutive ATP Tour semifinal and second straight Paris semifinal.

Djokovic reaches ninth Paris semifinal with revenge win

No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia advanced to his ninth Paris semifinal after defeating  No. 6 seed Holger Rune of Denmark, 7-5, 6-7 (3), 6-4, in two hours and 54 minutes. It was a rematch of last year’s final won by the young Dane. He’s now 48-9 lifetime in the Rolex Paris Masters.

Djokovic finished with 10 aces and 32 winners. The 36-year-old Serbian broke Rune’s serve three times in four opportunities, including in the third game of the deciding set that provided to be edge he needed to secure the quarterfinal victory.

The win extended Djokovic’s current winning streak comes to 16 matches and he’s 31-1 on hard courts this season. The Serbian, appearing in his 11th Paris quarterfinal, improved to 9-2. Meanwhile, Rune, 20, was playing just his fourth career ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal and had never lost in this round. Djokovic and Rune have split four career head-to-head matches.

“It was quite a similar match to last year’s final, it was anybody’s game in every set.” Djokovic said in his post-match interview. “I played an awful tie-break in the second set, probably the worst one this year. But again credit to him for staying mentally tough and playing solid. We have similar games. Move well, defend well and all-round players.”

Next, Djokovic will face No. 5 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia, who recovered from being a set down to defeat No. 13 seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, in two hours and a minute.

De Minaur, who, advanced to the quarterfinals by walkover when his opponent Jannik Sinner of Italy withdrew citing fatigue after finishing his second-round match at 2:37 a.m. Thursday, fell to 6-8 against Top 10 opponents this season (7-30 from 2017-2022) and was appearing in just his second ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal.

Meanwhile, Rublev has appeared in his eighth different ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals. He had beaten de Minaur just once in four attempts before Friday. Now, he’s improved to 8-4 in quarterfinals this season and is through to his third ATP Masters 1000 semifinal of the year.

“I just had to keep fighting and trying to be more aggressive,” Rublev said in his on-court interview. “He was putting me under a lot of pressure and playing a lot with the legs and it wasn’t working when I wasn’t taking risks. So I knew I had to go for my shots and then it started to work.”

Around the Rolex Paris Masters

Six of the eight seeded doubles teams reached the quarterfinal round, including No. 1 seeds Ivan Dodig of Croatia and Austin Krajicek of the United States and No. 2 seeds Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neal Skupski of Great Britain. However, both of the top-seeded teams were upset on Friday.

Harri Helliovara of Finland and Mate Pavic of Croatia defeated Dodig and Krajicek, 6-4, 6-4, and No. 7 seeds  Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France prevailed over Koolhof and Skupski, 6-4, 6-4.

Friday’s Rolex Paris Masters results

Saturday’s Rolex Paris Masters order of play

By the numbers

This is the first time since 2018 there are three former champions in the quarterfinals: six-time winner Novak Djokovic, 2022 champ Holger Rune and 2018 titlist Karen Khachanov. That year former champions Djokovic, Roger Federer and Jack Sock were in the quarterfinals.

“Quotable …”

“Yes, I believe I started with a very clear mindset again to try to go for the trophy, remember as much as possible, like my tennis, and I did that well. I managed to raise my level when it mattered, like at the end. So, I’m happy that I found that extra gear.”

– Defending Rolex Paris Masters champion Holger Rune of Denmark, during his on-court interview Thursday night, following his third-round win over Daniel Altmaier.

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