By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, August 29, 2023

 

Grigor Dimitrov rallied from a two-set deficit saving three match points subduing Alex Molcan 6-7(9), 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(9) in a US Open thriller on Court 7.

Photo credit: Brad Penner/US Open/USTA

NEW YORK—Crowd sourcing came to Court No. 7.

Fans were chanting “Dimitrov! Dimitrov” urging Grigor Dimitrov’s dynamic comeback from a two-set deficit.

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Tapping into inner electricity, Dimitrov denied three match points in pulling the plug on Alex Molcan with a pulsating 6-7(9), 6-7(5), 6-1, 7-5, 7-6(9) comeback conquest to reach the US Open second round.

Dimitrov conjured a slick half-volley winner to save the third match point and level the tiebreaker 9-9.

The former world No. 3 nearly doubled Molcan’s winner output (81 to 43), fired 20 aces and won 35 of 55 trips to net setting up a blockbuster battle against former world No. 1 Andy Murray in round two.

The 2012 US Open champion Murray dissected Corentin Moutet 6-2, 7-5, 6-3 in a first-round match two minutes shy of two hours on Grandstand.



Two-time Olympic gold-medal champion Murray and Dimitrov practiced together before the US Open began with the Bulgarian seemingly bothered by a knee issue.

Adding to the intrigue: Dani Vallverdu, Murray's former coach, is back in Dimitrov's corner and was on hand for today's comeback triumph. Murray has won 8 of 11 meetings with Dimitrov; this will be their first encounter in nearly seven years.

"I've played quite a lot of matches against ex-coaches. I think I've only lost once," Murray said. "I've said this a lot: it's not just with me, but with tennis in general, certain things look sort of easy from the outside, strategy-wise or tactically against lots of players. Once you get on the court, it's not always that easy to just go out and execute it. It's difficult. Shots that maybe look like they're easy to attack, when you're out there, it's not quite the same.

"I mean, it probably should be a big advantage for him to have two guys that have worked with me over the years. But we'll find out in a couple of days."

Today, Dimitrov’s body and spirit were put through the wringer by Molcan. This was a draining four hour, 38-minute duel that saw Dimitrov battle back from a two-set deficit to level then fight back from 2-5 down in the decisive set.

The 19th-seeded Dimitrov saved his first match point serving at 4-5, 30-40, eventually holding to level after 10 games.

Each man held at love as the drama escalated into the 10-point match tiebreaker.

Dimitrov led 2-0, but bungled a relatively routine smash as Molcan ran off four points in a row. A Molcan pass down the line clipped the top of the tape and skipped over putting Dimitrov in an awkward spot. The Bulgarian’s tweener went wide as Molcan went up 4-2.

The tiebreaker was even at 7-7 when Dimitrov poked a slice backhand into net then sailed a forehand giving Molcan two more match points at 9-7.




Facing the stress with forward thinking, Dimitrov saved the second match point with a backhand volley winner. On the third match point, Dimitrov again attacked the net caressing a fine forehand half-volley winner to level at 9-9 sparking fans to chant “Let’s Go Dimitrov! Let’s Go Dimitrov!”

Surprising the Slovakian with a serve-and-volley brought Dimitrov his own match point and he closed on an Molcan error.

The pair shared an emotional embrace after a spirited fight then Dimitrov sat on his court-side seat absorbing it all afterward.

This comeback win comes four years after Dimitrov rallied from a two-sets-to-one hole stunning five-time champion Roger Federer 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the 2019 semifinals.