Grigor Dimitrov battled past an inspired Marcos Baghdatis to book his spot in the fourth round with a scrappy 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-3 result – a victory posing more questions than answers ahead of the No.10 seed’s showdown with Andy Murray.
It was a far from convincing performance from the 23-year-old, who admitted to feeling flat coming into the match.
“It’s not every day you wake up in the morning and you feel 100 per cent to play tennis,” he admitted, but took heart from the way he hunkered down in the fourth and fifth sets as the cat-and-mouse nature of the contest caught up with his fading opponent.
“Matches like that, it's really important to win, even if it's not on your best days. I think this is how you go forward. Today was one of those days for me, that I didn't really feel good on the court, wasn't really comfortable with my game, but I found a way to fight through it [from] two sets to one down. To me that says a lot, gives me a lot of confidence.”
Hisense Arena may be open to general admission fans in 2015, but Show Court 3, in the shadows of Margaret Court Arena, remains the people’s court. From Thanasi Kokkinakis high-fiving every front-row fan after beating Ernests Gulbis on Monday night to Nick Kyrgios crowd-sourcing his return strategy against Ivo Karlovic on Wednesday, the intimate bowl is proving to be the hottest non-ticket in town.
Walking past the court on Friday afternoon, you could be forgiven for thinking a soccer match had broken out. Bulgarian, Greek and Cypriot fans were in fine voice from the warm-up to the handshakes on a picture-perfect day at Melbourne Park.
Can it really be nine years since Baghdatis barnstormed his way to the Australian Open final? Rather than push for a place at one of the Australian Open Series events, the world No.77 headed to Happy Valley, Adelaide, for a Challenger event. He may have collected just $4240 for reaching the final, but the court time has proved invaluable.
The 29-year-old was every bit the equal of Dimitrov in the opening set, making just three unforced errors and outgunning the No.10 seed, 13 winners to seven. With the Bulgarian struggling to find his range Baghdatis snatched a break in game nine, serving out the set to love.
The Cypriot’s ball-striking abilities have rarely been in question – but it’s another story when it comes to his fitness. The trainer was out to deal with his hip as he trailed in the second, Dimitrov having stepped up the aggression to run his opponent into the ground.
With Roger Rasheed in his corner, Dimitrov is now a bona fide elite athlete – but something in the Bulgarian’s game was misfiring, and a couple of shoe changes weren’t the answer. A prolific shot-maker, he appeared flat and nervous, snatching at his shots rather than stroking them and bemused by his inability to keep the ball away from Baghdatis.
It proved costly for Dimitrov in the third. Once again the Cypriot produced some inspired tennis to break at the business end and served out the set to the delight of the vocal majority around the court, but the world No.10 found a way to a decider after grabbing an early break and weathering another couple of ordinary service games.
A solitary break had settled each set, so when Dimitrov pumped his fist after grabbing an early break in the fifth the end seemed nigh for Baghdatis, whose game became more ragged with each passing point.
The writing was on the wall when the Cypriot slipped 0-40 down at 5-3, and though he saved two match points a forehand error handed Dimitrov the third and place in the fourth round. No.6 seed Andy Murray awaits, with Dimitrov expecting a response following his impressive Wimbledon quarterfinal win over the Scot last year.
“I think it's a different scenario this time,” Dimitrov said. “I think he has a lot to look forward to, adding up the new team, it's all fresh. It's going to give him a bit more excitement to compete, which I'm certainly aware of. But in the same time, I feel that I'm pretty stable around me as well. I think the only thing I can do is get out there and play my tennis.”
With a little luck, his head and his feet will be in a better place by then, too.
Dimitrov rallies to beat Baghdatis in 5 sets. Now standing in his way (potentially) of his 1st major are Murray, Federer, Nadal & Djokovic.
Grigor Dimitrov celebrates his win over Baghdatis
video: http://t.co/C235WL6zak
by ausopen. com
