By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, November 1, 2023
Grigor Dimitrov converted his seventh match point toppling Daniil Medvedev 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(2) in a wild Rolex Paris Masters clash.
Photo credit: Rolex Paris Masters Facebook
Daniil Medvedev was raging and French fans were roaring.
Despite six match points slipping from his grip, Grigor Dimitrov was too riveted on completing the job to be rattled by the racket.
More: Medvedev Fingers Feud with French Fans
Calm amid the chaos, Dimitrov converted his seventh match point toppling Medvedev 6-3, 6-7(4), 7-6(2) in a wild Rolex Paris Masters clash.
A dynamic Dimitrov not only doubled the third seed’s winner output (48 to 22), he avenged a 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 loss to defending champion Medvedev in Vienna last week. Dimitrov defeated Medvedev for the first time since the 2021 Indian Wells, improving to 38-20 on the season.
A relentless Dimitrov credited resilience with his third career win over Medvedev.
“I was very resilient throughout the whole match,” Dimitrov told the media in Paris. “I was looking for the match, I always wanted to create the game, I was trying to create my plays and go after the shots.
“I think last week, I think it also gave me a lot of insight of the things I can do better and things I wanted to do better. Yeah, a difficult one today, but I'm very happy that, you know, I managed to also hold on to my emotions and keep going after my game.”
Dimitrov spun a running forehand pass crosscourt breaking for a 4-2 lead in the decider and prompting fans to chant “Dimitrov! Dimitrov!”
A frustrated Medvedev tossed his Tecnifibre racquet to the court and took out his rage, battering the stick as Dimitrov held for 5-2.
Credit Medvedev, who lost the Vienna final to Jannik Sinner on Sunday, for digging in with defiance today. Medvedev saved four match points, including winning a punishing 47-shot rally, to break when Dimitrov served for the match at 5-3.
Pushed to the bring, Medvedev saved another two match points down 5-6 to force a final-set tiebreaker.
The man in the backward baseball cap unleashed positive forward movement to come through the third-set tiebreaker.
After falling short in Vienna last week, a calm Dimitrov said self belief carried him over the finish line today.
“I think one of the most important things is when you're out there on the court, because in a way you're surrounded by so many people but you're all alone,” Dimitrov said. “So you need to stay mentally very, like, within yourself, with yourself. I think the inner chatter is so important, as well.
“How you're going to prepare, you know, prior to the match, during the match, coming out on the court, when you get a break, when you're down a break. So there are so many variables coming throughout the match. In the same time, I just feel like nothing can rattle me on that end to the extent I can just explode and have different type of reaction. Always in the game. The only thing I can really, really control is myself. I mean, if I'm able to keep my emotions on a good level and recognizing the situation, I don't see why there should be any problem.”
The 17th-ranked Dimitrov scored his third Top-5 win in the last month. Dimitrov defeated No. 4 Holger Rune in Beijing, upset No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai and today toppled No. 3 Medvedev.
Next up for the resurgent Dimitrov is a round of 16 clash vs. Alexander Bublik and the desire to keep pushing forward with positive daring.
“I think there are times throughout the year I was playing good tennis, but nothing was going my way,” Dimitrov said. “It's just when those type of moments come, you just have to stick with it. You just never know when, you know, you're going to have a good week, where things can go your way.
“ I mean, like for other tournaments I was ten times more prepared, and I could not put one ball in the court the way I wanted to. It's all about that balance, and I don't want to get too hung up on the other tournaments or what could I have done and how it's going to be next week. All I'm thinking is, okay, how can I recover for tomorrow, what do I have to do tomorrow. So I'm trying to take things a little bit more lightly in the same time.”