Tennis: Grigor Dimitrov defeats Hubert Hurkacz by 2-1 at the Indian Wells
New Delhi: Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov defeated his Polish counterpart Hubert Hurkacz 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2) in 2 straight sets in the Men’s Singles quarterfinals of the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells, California, on Friday.
The tight match had Hurkacz dominating the opening set as Dimitrov struggled to keep pace. Hurkacz opened the set with strong serves and effectively moved forward to cause net fouls and double faults for Dimitrov. Hurkacz converted his 3rd breakpoint as he led on to win the set by 6-3.
After a breakthrough in set 1, Hurkacz committed double faults while Dimitrov saved 2 breakpoints at 3-3 in set 2.
Finally, taking charge of his game, Dimitrov scored an epic net point and won his first set by 6-4.
The final set saw the 23rd Seed use his forehand smashes and volleys as Hurkacz pushed the match into a decider at 5-2.
Dimitrov was composed even after failing to save 2 breakpoints and consistently advanced to win the tie-breaker by 7- 6(2) and earned the 100 Masters 1000 wins achievement.
He will face Great Britain’s Cameron Norrie on Saturday in his first Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
(Avya Mathur)
