The best Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov qualified for the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Stockholm, defeating the Dutchman Talon Griekspoor in the semifinals with 2:6, 7:5, 6:4.
For the number 10 in the world ranking, this is one of the favorite tournaments, as he has won the title, and has also played in two other finals. This year, in the battle for the trophy, he will face Tommy Paul (USA), who also has one title in the Swedish capital. The American achieved a fairly easy victory over Swiss veteran Stan Wawrinka 6:3, 6:2.
The match between Dimitrov and Grikspoor went through many twists and turns, and in the first set the Haskovo player suffered a real collapse after the fourth game. The second part was also not particularly convincing for Dimitrov, who imposed his will at the end. The third developed in a similar way, when the last two games again turned out to be decisive, BTA reported.
The beginning of the first set did not suggest anything about the further development of the match. Dimitrov won his first serve, although he reflected one break point. The Bulgarian could have doubled, but wasted two opportunities on Grikspoor's first serve of the match. In this spirit, the match went until 2:2, after which the Bulgarian suffered a real collapse. For 2:3, the Dutch tennis player showed several good decisions - going to the net, strong returns, and to top it off, Dimitrov made a double fault. Then Dimitrov led 30:0 and it seemed that he would look for a breakthrough. After that, even the opponent's mistakes did not help the Bulgarian.
The Bulgarian star started strong, but sent too strong forehands out and after 30:30 in the seventh game allowed a second break in the set and 2:5. The Bulgarian had one chance to return the break in the last game, but Griekspoor's fourth ace guaranteed him victory and 6:2. The second set started like the first - the first game for Dimitrov, and now from the second attempt he managed to make a breakthrough and lead 2:0. The Bulgarian's solid play continued, and in the third game he had clearly improved his defense, after eliminating two diagonal shots from his opponent. Grigor Dimitrov consolidated the break for 3:0, and then remained in the same direction of the match, leading 4:1. After that, however, the Dutch tennis player took his serve to zero, and on a second attempt he made a break for 3:4. The Bulgarian's inaccuracies seemed careless, but in the end, although he saved himself from a double fault, the following forehand went out and the break went to the face.
After that, however, the physically powerful Grikspoor showed that the serve is his strong weapon. He not only saved himself with an ace from a break, but his powerful shots from the starting line also made it very difficult for the Bulgarian. After that, however, Dimitrov quickly took his serve to zero, but his opponent returned the gesture in almost the same way and tied the match for 5:5. In the next two games, however, Dimitrov demonstrated his very high class. From what seemed like a very difficult position, he managed to pull both out to equalize the overall score at 7:5 in the second set. It was especially impressive when he made a phenomenal passing shot at the beginning, and then a forehand on the line with surgical precision for 0:30. A point for Grixpoor did not stop Dimitrov's drive, who once again walked his opponent around the court and finally raised his hand victoriously.
In the third set, both started more carefully, relying on stability in defense and in the first nine games there was a total of one point for a breakthrough. It opened up for Grixpoor, who led 40:30 at 2:2 and a serve from Dimitrov, who, however, quickly eliminated the danger of dropping his serve. The denouement came in the 10th game of the third set. With his fourth match point, Dimitrov finished successfully. He led in the last game 40:0, but Griekspoor's strong serve came into play and it came to 40:40. However, the Bulgarian star first forced the Dutchman to make a mistake and took the lead. Then he made a mistake on the first serve, and when playing the second one, he sent the ball into the net and, accordingly, Dimitrov reached the final.