By Alberto Amalfi | Thursday, February 9, 2017
World No. 87 Nikoloz Basilashvili saved all three break points he faced toppling top-seeded Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the Sofia Open quarterfinals.
Photo credit: Sofia Open Facebook
The opening hurdle was a high bar for seeds in Sofia today.
Dominic Thiem stumbled in his debut and Grigor Dimitrov survived in his homecoming.
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World No. 87 Nikoloz Basilashvili saved all three break points he faced upsetting the top-seeded Dominic Thiem, 6-4, 6-4, to reach the Sofia Open quarterfinals.
Empowered by a pair of Davis Cup victories he posted for Georgia over the weekend, the 24-year-old Basilashvili broke once in each set wrapping up a 78-minute victory.
Basilashvili, who did not face a break point in the first set, will play Martin Klizan for a semifinal spot.
The eighth-seeded Klizan defeated qualifier Daniel Brands, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
The third-seeded Dimitrov gave home fans reason to cheer rallying past big-serving Jerzy Janowicz, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.
The Australian Open semifinalist continued his torrid start to the season, raising his 2017 record to 11-1.
Janowicz hit nine of his 17 aces in the deciding set. Dimitrov was strong on serve in the decider: He won nine of 10 points played on his second serve and denied all three break points he faced in the final set.
The 13th-ranked Bulgarian opened the season beating three Top 10 players in succession—Thiem, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori—to capture the Brisbane title last month.
Next up for Dimitrov is a quarterfinal match with Viktor Troicki.
Troicki hit 17 aces edging Robin Haase, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3), in one hour, 54 minutes.
A year ago, Troicki fought off a match point defeating Dimitrov, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7) to successfully defend his Sydney title.