By Chris Oddo | Friday February 10, 2017
Grigor Dimitrov's homecoming is going swimmingly in Sofia. The Bulgarian eased past Viktor Troicki and into the semis on Friday.
Photo Source: Garanta Koza Sofia Open
The packed house is the first indication that Grigor Dimitrov is a big star in his home country. The blistering tennis is further proof.
The Bulgarian continued to build on his torrid start to 2017 on home soil at the Garanta Koza Sofia Open on Friday by dismantling Viktor Troicki, 6-3, 6-3, to book his spot in the semifinals.
Dimitrov will play Nikoloz Basilashvili in the last four, while No.2-seeded David Goffin will meet fifth-seeded Gilles Muller in the lower-half semifinal. Basilashvili backed up his upset of top-seeded Dominic Thiem yesterday by beating No. 8-seeded Martin Klizan, 0-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Dimitrov snapped a personal two-match losing streak against Troicki with a flawless performance, saving both break points he faced and converting on three of four of his own to keep the Serb behind the eight-ball from early on.
Troicki seemed perturbed at times by the bubbly support that the crowd of 12,000 heaped upon Dimitrov. At other times, the calm, effortless game of the Bulgarian proved to be too much of a puzzle for the hard-serving 31-year-old.
Dimitrov entered the week having won 88 percent of his service games and he has improved upon that number in two rounds, winning 24 of 25 service games en route to the semis. He won 27 of 30 first-serve points against Troicki.
After saving two break points in the opening game of the first set—one with a first-serve ace, the other with a second-serve unreturnable—Dimitrov never looked back. He broke in the next game on a Troicki backhand slice error and cruised the rest of the way in the opening set.
Troicki stayed with Dimitrov in the second set until 3-all, but Dimitrov ratcheted up the focus to claim two breaks and the final three games to win in 65 minutes.
Dimitrov improves to 11-1 on the season.
Bautista Agut leads Goffin 3-0 in their lifetime head-to-head, but the pair have not met since the 2015 U.S. open.