By Chris Oddo | Thursday April 13, 2017
34-year-old Tommy Robredo reached the quarterfinals in Marrakech with a strong victory over top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov.
Photo Source: TennisTV
He may be ranked 385 in the world, but Tommy Robredo can still—when fit—get it done on a clay court. The 34-year-old Spaniard proved that much on Thursday at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, as he sailed by top-seeded Grigor Dimitrov, 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.
More: Del Potro Signs on to Join Nadal and Murray at Queen's Club
Robredo has played limited matches this season, and is still in the process of trying to rebuild his ranking after undergoing elbow surgery last year.
The bespectacled Spaniard saved a break point in his first service game of the opener and capitalized on his only chance of the set to take the lead, but Dimitrov dominated the second set, dropping just one game, and looked to be heading to a comeback win.
Robredo would not yield, however. He broke to take the lead in the decider and saved all three break points he faced in the next game to hold for 3-0. Beyond holding to close to 3-1, Dimitrov didn’t have much of a reply. Robredo camped out far beyond the baseline and struck his forehand with lots of action. His legs did a lot of the work as he patrolled the baseline and made it very difficult for Dimitrov to hit through him.
Robredo would take the last three games on the trot, sealing his victory with a backhand winner to earn his first Top 20 in in over two years. Oddly, that also came against Dimitrov at Indian Wells.
Robredo improves to 3-1 lifetime against the Bulgarian and 2-0 on clay. He advances to his first quarterfinal since the fall of 2015, and improves to 4-4 on the season.
Next up for Robredo will be France’s Benoit Paire. The sixth-seeded Frenchman slid by Moldova’s Radu Albot, 6-2, 6-2.
Other winners on Thursday were third-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber, who edged Jeremy Chardy, 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, and fifth-seeded Paolo Lorenzi, who defeated compatriot Gianluigi Quinzi, 7-6(5), 2-6, 6-4.
Fourth-seeded Mischa Zverev fell to Jiri Vesely, 6-4, 6-4, while Jan-Lennard Struff defeated Morocco’s own Amine Ahouda, 6-3, 6-4.