By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, June 30, 2016
"My excitement for the game was there, which always helps. The positivity brings you good shots, good decisions," said Grigor Dimitrov after defeating nemesis Gilles Simon.
Photo credit: Reuters
There is a time and place for everything.
Facing Gilles Simon in a meaningful match on any surface has seldom been a good time or place for Grigor Dimitrov.
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The 16th-seeded Frenchman had won five of his prior six meetings with Dimitrov, including straight-sets wins in their two grass-court clashes.
So when Simon found his range, won the third set and surged to a 3-1 lead in the fourth set, it seemed the ghosts of past failures could haunt Dimitrov again.
Dimitrov was in no mood for deja vu.
Asserting his aggression, Dimitrov reeled off five of the final six games stopping Simon, 6-3, 7-6 (1), 3-6, 6-4 to advance to the Wimbledon third round for the third straight year.
An exuberant Dimitrov summed up the win with the same vigor he showed closing the match.
"Excellent, excellent, excellent. I mean, I didn't expect anything less from me today," Dimitrov said. "I came out on the court and I played a very solid, I think, two sets. Third one was a little, I think, just I think not doubt, but I was not hitting the ball as well. I did a few unforced errors, but back at the fourth, I felt very comfortable.
"I had quite a bit of fuel in the tank, which is a good sign. I was going after my shots. I broke him twice to finish the match. So it was a good match overall for me."
The 37th-ranked Dimitrov will take on American Steve Johnson for a spot in the round of 16 and potential meeting with seven-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer. Johnson hit 17 aces in a 6-1, 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory over France's Jeremy Chardy.
Dimitrov defeated Johnson in straight sets in the Wimbledon second round last year. In their rematch weeks later, Johnson scored a three-set win on the Washington, DC hard court.
The 2014 Wimbledon semifinalist took charge moving forward. Dimitrov won 37 of 55 trips to net (67 percent) and hit 21 more winners (44 to 23) than his opponent, a 2015 Wimbledon quarterfinalist.
More importantly, when things got tight in the fourth set, Dimitrov kept calm and continued to swing with ambition and defiance despite the doubts of his past slips that saw him stagger through clay-court season on a six-match losing streak after his Istanbul implosion.
"I was just saying, Not again. Also, I have been, I think, quite a bit unfortunate with some of my matches the past months, I would say," Dimitrov said. "I just figured, well, it is what it is. I can't do anything about it. But the only thing I can do is give myself the best shot possible. When I got to that point, when I got to that feeling, you know, I just kept playing my game.
"My excitement for the game was there, which always helps. The positivity brings you good shots, good decisions. I was like, I'm not losing that match, even if it went into a fifth."
The slender Simon is at his best playing off pace, hitting counter strikes to wrong-foot opponents. Simon isn't as comfortable initiating play and can decelerate his forehand under pressure.
Down 3-4 in the fourth set, Dimitrov pressured the Simon forehand, hitting bigger at that wing. Dimitrov drew three forehand errors to break back for 4-all.
Empowered, Dimitrov roared through eight of the last 10 points, drawing two final forehand errors from Simon to close a quality three-hour, one-minute match.
"I had the feeling that I was more confident on the court in the third and in the fourth also," Simon said. "But in just five minutes he played like really good. Not missing, defending well. Being really precise in offense, also, and was just too good to finish the match."
Two years ago, Dimitrov swept reigning champion Andy Murray to reach the Wimbledon semifinals where he took a set from Novak Djokovic before bowing in four tense sets.
Arriving at SW19 short on confidence and spiraling in six-match losing streak, Dimitrov won back-to-back matches for the first time since April. He aims to keep the winning rhythm rolling.
"With each match you get more and more confident," Dimitrov said. "You start to feel the grass more, your movement more, your shots, your routine. Everything becomes very natural. You get in a good rhythm. So that gives you that calmness when you come out on the court.
"But for me, I mean, honestly I'm trying not to think so much about what happened two years ago, because if I just keep playing on that, oh, I had unbelievable Wimbledon two years ago, I will never be able to do better. In a way, I just don't want to live in the past. I take all the good moments and the good experience, yes, indeed I do. But if I want to get even further, there is just obviously a long way to go."