Tennis: Dimitrov stuns Federer to reach US Open semifinals

NEW YORK -- Grigor Dimitrov rallied for a shocking upset of 20-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer at the US Open on Tuesday, the lowest-ranked New York semi-finalist in 28 years advancing to face Daniil Medvedev. 

The 78th-ranked Bulgarian, who had dropped all seven prior meetings with Federer, made a dramatic fightback to defeat the Swiss third seed, 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2, at Arthur Ashe Stadium and will face Russian fifth seed Medvedev in Friday's semis.

"I'm just happy," Dimitrov said. "The only thing I was telling myself was to stay in the match. Physically I was feeling pretty good. I was hitting some shots against him that were hard to hit."

Dimitrov reached his first US Open semifinal to match the deepest Slam runs of his career from Wimbledon in 2014 and the 2017 Australian Open.

Not since 174th-ranked Jimmy Connors reached the 1991 quarterfinals had New York seen so lowly a figure on the ATP ratings list reach the last four.

Dimitrov is also the lowest-ranked Slam semi-finalist since 94th-rated Rainer Schuettler of Germany at Wimbledon in 2008.

Federer was denied on five break points in the 10th game of the fourth set and Dimitrov held to force a fifth set.

"I was trying to stay in that game and make him stay on the court as much as possible. After that he started slowing down a little bit," Dimitrov said. "It's a best of five sets. Anything can happen."

Federer went off the court for a private medical timeout to treat his upper back near his neck.

"This is Grigor's moment, not my body's moment," Federer said.

Dimitrov broke Federer twice on the way to a 4-0 lead in the final set and the 38-year-old Swiss star had no effective reply, foiled by 61 unforced errors in falling after three hours and 12 minutes.

"It's OK. It's how it goes," Federer said. "I tried my best. I fought with what I had and that's it."

Federer, a five-time US Open champion who hasn't lifted the Flushing Meadows title since 2008, would have become the oldest Slam semi-finalist since Jimmy Connors at age 39 at the 1991 US Open.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Tennis: Dimitrov outlasts Cilic in heavyweight clash

Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov twice came from a set behind to outlast 11th seed Marin Cilic in a heavyweight second-round clash at the French Open on Wednesday.

The former world number three, unseeded this year at Roland Garros after falling to 46th in the rankings, produced a gutsy display laced with pure shot-making to win 6-7 6-4 4-6 7-6 6-3.

Dimitrov moved 5-2 ahead in the decider with two breaks, but Cilic was not going out without a fight and saved a match point with a booming forehand as he repaired some of the damage.

Cilic netted a backhand in the next game, however, to hand Dimitrov a notable victory.

Dimitrov has never been past the third round at Roland Garros and if he is to extend his stay beyond that this year, he will have to do it the hard way.

His next opponent is 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka.

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Tennis: Rain slows Djokovic in Cincy, Stephens ousted

Novak Djokovic's third-round fightback against defending champion Grigor Dimitrov was interrupted by rain as the pair stood one set each on Thursday at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters.

Former world number one Djokovic is vying to break through for a first Cincinnati win after coming up empty in five finals. He lost the first set 6-2 and won the second 6-3.

Cincinnati remains the only one of the nine Masters 1000 events that the Serb star hasn't won. He has lifted trophies at least twice at each of the other eight events in the elite ATP series.

Djokovic is also trying to avoid an unenviable record of 30 Cincinnati match wins without a title.

Bulgaria's Dimitrov, who has won just one of eight prior encounters with Djokovic, prevailed easily in the opening set and broke early in the second before Djokovic roared back, breaking for a second time to take a 5-3 lead.

The 10th-seeded Serb squared the match as the day's second bout of major rain moved in.

Earlier, Simona Halep and Juan Martin del Potro completed rain-delayed second-round victories.

World number one Halep took advantage of an early afternoon respite from the weather to finish off a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic.

Halep, clearly frustrated when the match was halted at 3-3 in the third on Wednesday night, won three straight games to finish off the victory in 10 minutes.

The timing was perfect for the French Open champion as drizzle resumed moments after her contest ended.

Argentina's world number three del Potro had played just six points in the first game of his postponed second-round match against Chung Hyeon before the rain came again.

But the weather cleared, allowing officials to get eight courts into action, and del Potro returned to finish off a 6-2, 6-3 win over the South Korean to set up a night meeting with Australian Nick Kyrgios for a place in the quarter-finals.

Milos Raonic reached the men's quarter-finals with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory over fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov, avenging a loss to his younger compatriot in Madrid three months ago.

STEPHENS OUSTED

In women's third-round action, reigning US Open champion Sloane Stephens was eliminated while Madison Keys, runner-up at Flushing Meadows last year, moved ahead.

Belgian Elise Mertens scored the second top five win of her career, beating Stephens 7-6 (10/8), 6-2 while Keys rallied to defeat fourth-seeded Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.

Keys fired 55 winners with 44 unforced errors against the German, who is playing her first hardcourt tournament in the buildup to the US Open.

"I had to keep it cool, she gets lot of balls back," Keys said. "I used my forehand and serve well today. I'm really happy and I'm looking to go further."

Keys next faces Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, who upset French sixth seed Caroline Garcia 6-4, 3-6, 7-5.

Petra Kvitova, who toppled Serena Williams in the second round, reached the last eight with a 6-4, 6-2 win over France's Kristina Mladenovic.

"I just need to get out there and really fight, I was telling myself to fight," the two-time Wimbledon champion said. 

"I did a lot of talking to myself today, pushing myself to just go for it. I'm glad that in the important points I played aggressively - that was important today."

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Tennis: Teen star Rublev breaks down door to US Open glory

Russian teen Andrey Rublev spent years beating his head on the walls of success before finding the door this year and smashing it down Thursday at the US Open.

The 19-year-old from Moscow advanced to a Grand Slam third round for the first time by shocking Bulgarian seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.


Rublev, ranked 53rd, advanced to a last-32 date with Bosnian Damir Dzumhur after dispatching a solid contender in Dimitrov, who was coming off his biggest career title two weeks ago at Cincinnati, for his first win over a top-10 rival.

It's a far cry from the kid who struggled in the junior ranks last year until tossing out his coach and support staff and starting over.

"The way I was working, it was not the way to be pro tennis player," Rublev said.

"I change the team completely. In that moment starts the real work. And now I improve in this year. I improve much more than in all my tennis career."

Rublev compared his efforts to finding a door to unlock progress after banging on walls in frustration.

"When I was junior, I was working hard. I was not doing some bad things. It's just this work was not for the pro," he said.

"Let's say you have a door and you can open the door and I was trying to open this door from the wall, you know? It was hitting the wall. You can work so hard like this, but you going to only get worse and worse."

"It was not that I was not working or I was lazy. It's just with this work is not going to come results. You going to only be worse and worse."

Rublev won his first ATP title in July at Umag, becoming the first lucky loser to capture a tour crown since Rajeev Ram in 2009 at Newport.

The Russian had lucky rituals in Croatia during his breakthrough week and has one this week in New York, eating at the same Japanese restaurant ahead of matches.

"We went to the same restaurant for dinner before first match and before this match. So two days in a row I went in the same restaurant," Rublev said.

"Tomorrow I'm not playing, so I can go somewhere else."

Rublev was down a break in each of the first two sets against Dimitrov but battled back to claim both.

"I was just thinking to try to focus, try to fight no matter even if I am losing with a break," Rublev said.

"And in the end, I was little bit lucky. I make a good few returns. I hit maybe few points close to the line.

"My style is just to play aggressive, try to play my rhythm because I have quite well rhythm that I can play, compete with many good guys."

He might just get his chance to find out with Belgian ninth seed David Goffin a possible fourth-round foe and top-ranked Rafael Nadal a potential quarter-final opponent.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

TENNIS WRAP: Federer defuses Dimitrov challenge to seal 300th slam win

MELBOURNE - A patient Roger Federer weathered a second set storm from Grigor Dimitrov before slapping down the Bulgarian challenger 6-4 3-6 6-1 6-4 to reach the fourth round of the Australian Open and clinch his 300th win in grand slams.

Long in the shadow of the Swiss master, Dimitrov played some irresistible tennis to prise a set but was powerless to maintain the intensity under a closed roof at Rod Laver Arena.

Federer, however, simply lifted a gear, taming an occasionally wayward forehand before speeding away from the Bulgarian player nicknamed 'Baby Fed'.

Capturing an early break in the final set, four-time champion Federer sealed the match with an imperious forehand to set up a clash with another young gun in Belgian David Goffin. (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Patrick Johnston)

Sharapova re-dresses for success to reach fourth round

Former champion Maria Sharapova found inspiration in a change of dress to put away unseeded American Lauren Davis 6-1 6-7(5) 6-0 at the Australian Open on Friday and set up an intriguing fourth round match with rising Swiss talent Belinda Bencic.

Up 2-0 in the second set and closing in on victory, the Russian's serve crumbled, allowing Davis to reel off five consecutive games and eventually capture a tense second set tiebreak.

Fifth seed Sharapova left the court for a lengthy comfort break between sets but re-emerged with a fresh outfit and a renewed focus, and proceeded to hammer the hapless American.

Bashing consecutive aces with her first two serves, Sharapova roared through without dropping a game, closing out the match when her 103rd-ranked opponent swiped a backhand long.

"I don't have a chat in the mirror, I think I get fined for that," Sharapova said courtside of her trip to the locker-room.

"I changed my dress and felt a little bit lighter which made me move better. But other than that, that's all I can share."

Pain-free Nishikori earns chance to avenge Tsonga loss

Japan's Kei Nishikori played down a problem with his right wrist after outlasting Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5 2-6 6-3 6-4 to move into the last 16 of the Australian Open on Friday.

The seventh seed had some trouble with the joint in the early part of the match when his Spanish opponent mounted his sternest challenge but by the end of the two hour, 12 minute encounter, was playing at his free-flowing best.

"It was little bit sore in the beginning, but after the treatment it was fine. I'm sure it's going to be okay," he said.

"It was a really tough match. There were many long rallies. I have to give a lot of credit to him, because he was hitting really hard. I thought he was going to hit more spin, but he was hitting a lot of flat balls and it was going in. It was tough to play."

The 26-year-old served out to love for victory, a fierce forehand winner to the left, a sumptuous top-spin forehand winner to the right and an ace giving him three-match points, the first of which he converted when Garcia-Lopez netted.

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Body and soul as Sharapova looks to recapture US Open magic

Ten years after becoming world number one for the first time as a bubbly 18-year-old, Maria Sharapova returns to the US Open, eager to recapture the magic of her 2006 title run.

But the world's richest sportswoman has a stack of hurdles to overcome at Flushing Meadows -- physical, emotional and psychological.

At 28, Sharapova is now the third oldest woman in the top 20 and the grind of the tour has returned to bite her at the most inconvenient time.

An upper leg injury has kept her off tour since her Wimbledon semi-final defeat to nemesis Serena Williams.

She will also be playing her first tournament since the break-up of her two-year romance with men's tour star Grigor Dimitrov.

Apart from the daily routine of practice, Sharapova has spent the week building up to the season's final Grand Slam showcasing her business talents.

A Manhattan photoshoot with Nike was followed rapidly by a promotion for her 'Sugarpova' candy brand at the city's iconic Bloomingdale's store.

But once the commercial side is wrapped up, there will be the serious business of rekindling her love affair with the US Open, a relationship desperately in need of counselling.

Since her 2006 title win over Justine Henin in the final, Sharapova has failed to return to the championship match.

There have been three third round losses, two in the last-16 and a semi-final run in 2012. She sat out the 2008 and 2013 events through injury.

"I think I will have to take it a match at a time and obviously can't have too many expectations," said Sharapova after her leg injury forced her out of the Toronto and Cincinnati warm-up tournaments.

"It's not the most ideal situation, but it is what it is for this particular year."

What is also not ideal is seeing long-time rival Serena Williams comfortably bludgeoning her way through the record books.

The American world number one is on the verge of the first calendar Grand Slam since Steffi Graf in 1988.

Victory would also give her a 22nd Grand Slam title.

Sharapova's majors total, however, has firmly stalled at five.

Her 35 career titles -- almost half of which were won in her teens -- are overshadowed by the American's 69.

Williams also even tops the Twitter battle with just over five million followers compared to the Russian's 1.7 million.

The two women have never met at the US Open which is just as well for Sharapova whose record against Williams now stands at 2-18 with both her wins coming back in 2004.

Her most recent defeat, a straight-sets semi-final mauling at Wimbledon, was her 17th in succession at the hands of the world's best player.

"I think when she plays against me, she certainly does take you out of your game," admitted Sharapova.

"That's why she's in the position she's in. I don't think it's a secret. I think she knows against certain players she needs to bring out her best. The way that she plays myself, maybe a few others, she has to bring it on the line.

"We're not able to do that as consistently as she does."

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Tsonga caps week of upsets with Rogers title

TORONTO - Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga had one more surprise in his bag of upsets, beating second seeded Roger Federer 7-5 7-6 (3) to cap a scintillating march to the Rogers Cup title on Sunday.

After knocking off world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round, taking out twice champion and eighth seed Andy Murray in the quarters and seventh seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semis, Tsonga denied 17-time grand slam winner Federer a landmark 80th career title.

"I played well all this week, I beat many good guys," said Tsonga. "It's a big achievement because I worked really hard to come back from my knee injury last year.

"Unfortunately there is no secret...behind this there is a lot of work.

"I'm waiting for this since couple of months now. I was looking for my best level, today I had it and it's great."

Certainly there was no disputing that Tsonga's win was well-deserved, the 13th seeded Frenchman's hit list including players who had won seven of the last 10 Canadian titles (Djokovic 2012, 2011, 2007; Murray 2010, 2009 and Federer 2004, 2006).

It marked the first time since 2002 that a player had beaten the four top seeds to win a Masters series event.

"He beat great players along the way and backed it up with another great final," said Federer, who turned 33 on Friday and had been hoping to celebrate his birthday by lifting the trophy. "No excuses. I think he played really solid and well when he had to.

"I wish I could have played a bit better in the finals today.

"There were things I could have done better, but, overall it was a positive week.

"I go away from this feeling good about my chances next week and also at the U.S. Open."

In 16 career meetings Tsonga had beaten the Swiss maestro just five times but three came on the Canadian hard courts.

With Federer appearing in his fifth Canadian final and Tsonga having advanced to at least the semi-finals in three of his four trips to Canada, both men had a cool look of confidence as they walked onto a blazing hot centre court.

In a week of superb performances, Tsonga may have saved his best for last, the second seeded Swiss unable to manage a single break chance the entire match.

Federer did not allow Tsonga many break opportunities himself but the one he did, in the first set, was all the Frenchman needed converting the chance to clinch the set and a 1-0 lead.

Play remained tight in the second with no break points, the set going to a tie-break won by Tsonga, who took four straight points after the breaker had been deadlocked at 3-3

"What is achieved is achieved and I will just continue on this way, continue to work hard," said Tsonga, when asked about his U.S. Open chances. "This win gives me a lot of hope for the rest of the year, of course.

"But I will continue to do my work like I did last couple of months and I hope I will continue to win."

(Editing by Gene Cherry)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Champion Murray sent crashing by brilliant Dimitrov

LONDON - Andy Murray's reign as Wimbledon champion came to a stunning end as Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov clinched a sensational 6-1, 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 victory in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Murray had hoped to become the first British man to successfully defend the Wimbledon title since Fred Perry in 1936, but the Scot was completely out-classed in a two-hour masterclass from 11th seed Dimitrov on Centre Court.

The 27-year-old's unexpected exit snapped his 17-match winning streak at the All England Club, a magical sequence which had brought him Olympic gold and a first Wimbledon title, and also ended his hopes of reaching a sixth consecutive semi-final at the grasscourt Grand Slam.

"I'm very disappointed with the way I started. I felt that gave him confidence at the beginning," Murray said.

"I felt fine in the warm-up but got off to a bad start. It's a lot easier for him to settle down when he's two sets up.

"He played a very solid match, making few mistakes and a lot of returns. I just wish I'd made it tougher for him. It wasn't a great day."

Dimitrov, 23, will play top seed Novak Djokovic or Croatia's Marin Cilic on Friday for a place in the final.

"I am excited and happy to win through in straight sets. It's never easy against Andy in front of his home crowd but today I was fortunate," Dimitrov said.

"I sensed in the warm up that his game was not at the highest level but I was already confident I could play at a high level and play good tennis.

"The first set I had good rhythm and held my ground in the tie-break which was crucial and the third set I had it under control."

Only once before had Murray lost a Wimbledon quarter-final -- against Rafael Nadal in 2008 -- and this was his first defeat against a player ranked outside the top 10 at a Grand Slam since 2010.

- Dimitrov proves potential -

After years of struggling to live up to the vast potential that has earned him numerous comparisons with Roger Federer, this was a thrilling performance from 23-year-old Dimitrov, who finally secured his first win over a top-10 player at a Grand Slam at the fifth attempt.

The world number 13 was playing in his first All England Club quarter-final, but he is a former junior Wimbledon champion and had underlined his grasscourt pedigree by winning the Queen's Club title last month.

He showed no signs of being overawed and secured two break points in the fourth game, converting at the first attempt when he pinned Murray to the baseline then rushed the net to force the Scot to blaze his backhand wide.

By the time Dimitrov broke again for a 5-1 lead a stunned silence had descended on Centre Court and he finished off the set in just 25 minutes.

The shock of dropping a set for the first time in this year's tournament only added to the already-lethargic Murray's malaise.

Murray seemed to have run out of answers when a tame backhand slice drifted out to give the Bulgarian a break for a 4-3 lead in the second set.

The third seed broke back to force a tie-break, but the crucial moment came at 4-4 in the breaker when Murray chose to charge the net behind a weak approach shot.

It was a disastrous gamble as Dimitrov stood his ground and unleashed a blistering backhand winner before serving out the set with a defiant roar.

Murray had been in equally dire straits when he defeated Fernando Verdasco from two sets down in the Wimbledon quarter-finals last year.

But he was unable to climbed off the canvas this time.

Murray's game was riddled with mistakes -- he made 37 unforced errors in total -- and it was fitting that virtually his last act as champion was the double fault that gifted Dimitrov a 5-2 lead in the third set.

Dimitrov wasn't going to refuse that gift and he sealed his sensational triumph on his second match point.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Federer beats ‘Baby Federer’ to keep up Tour Finals bid

Roger Federer ended Grigor Dimitrov's seven-match winning streak and showed the Bulgarian he has some way to go to live up to his 'Baby Federer' tag with a 6-3 7-6 (2) quarter-final victory at the Basel Open on Friday.

Third seed Federer is now two matches away from scooping a sixth title at his Swiss hometown tournament and guaranteeing his place in the season-ending ATP World Tour finals.

It was the first meeting between the 17-times grand slam champion and young pretender Dimitrov whose stylish game has drawn comparisons with Federer.

The eighth seed was the form player, having claimed his maiden ATP title in Stockholm on Sunday, but was unable to make the most of his chances.

Dimitrov passed up five break points in the first set while Federer clinically won both of his to take the opener in 35 minutes.

The world number 22 got his nose in front in the second set but Swiss great Federer fought back, forced a tie break and then ran away with it to set up a semi-final against rising Canadian talent Vasek Pospisil.

Failure to win the Basel crown would leave Federer in danger of missing out on the eight-man season finale after a difficult year.

He is eighth in the ATP Race standings, with next week's Paris Masters the final event where players can earn points to qualify for the London showpiece.

Top seed Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina will face unseeded Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin in the other semi-final. (Reporting by Toby Davis; editing by Tony Jimenez)

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