World No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov says he will take time off to reassess his form, following a third-round exit at Roland Garros on Friday. “I definitely need to take some time off now to kind of reassess the whole clay-court season, to be honest,” said Dimitrov, after his 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 loss to Fernando Verdasco. “I think that's going to be the No. 1 priority for me now, to kind of step out from tennis for a little bit, [and] try to watch some matches and sort of try to progress somehow. Just get better. “I have always been a positive thinker, and I want to keep that on the same level right now.” [ALSO LIKE] The Bulgarian, who finished...
Three of the ATP World Tour’s biggest stars needed to dig deep Wednesday to reach the third round of Roland Garros. Second seed Alexander Zverev, who has won three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles but never reached a Grand Slam quarter-final, looked to be headed for more heartbreak at the majors when he trailed Serbian Dusan Lajovic two sets to one. But the leader of the ATP Race To London powered home, winning 12 of the last 15 games of the match to win 2-6, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. It was his 18th win from his past 20 matches. Read Report “In the fourth and fifth sets, I really felt good out there even though I was a little...
Grigor Dimitrov might not have had the clay-court season he had envisioned before Roland Garros – the Bulgarian reached just one semi-final, at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. But the fourth seed has fought his way through the early rounds in Paris. Dimitrov withstood an aggressive effort from American Jared Donaldson on Wednesday, coming back from two sets to one down to beat the 21-year-old 6-7(2), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 10-8 in four hours and 20 minutes. The Bulgarian served from behind in the fifth set, but kept his focus as Donaldson struggled with cramps and took his chances while returning. “It's great to win a match in five sets. I think it stays with you, you keep it, and especially on...
Watch highlights as Grigor Dimitrov overcomes lucky loser Mohamed Safwat in the first round of 2018 Roland Garros, despite finding out about his new opponent just before the match. Video courtesy of Roland Garros. Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP World Tour.
Grigor Dimitrov adapted well to the challenge of facing a late replacement in the draw on Sunday, beating lucky loser Mohamed Safwat 6-1, 6-4, 7-6(1) to reach the second round at Roland Garros. “We spent a bit of time [together] when we played juniors,” revealed Dimitrov. “I [have] known him for quite some time. He's a great guy.” Dimitrov had prepared to face Viktor Troicki in the opening match of the tournament on Philippe-Chatrier Court before the Serb withdrew with lower back pain, handing Egypt’s Safwat a place in the main draw. Safwat, the first Egyptian man to compete at a Grand Slam since Tamer El Sawy at the 1996 US Open, only discovered he was playing Dimitrov one hour...