Grigor Dimitrov surprises Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals – AEGON Championships 2012
World number 72, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, reached the last-four stage for the first time on the ATP World Tour, as he defeated South Africa’s Kevin Anderson, seeded ninth in the draw, in three sets 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarter-finals
at the AEGON Championships in London on Friday. The Bulgarian required two hours and three minutes to outlast his better ranked opponent.
The match was started steadily by both players, as they did not lose their serves in the first nine games to take the score to 5-4 in favour of Anderson. The South African lost only point in the 10th and captured it
6-4.
Anderson sent blistering serves on his opponent, bombarding six aces and 82 percent of the first deliveries. The South African converted 18 of the 23 first and three of the five second serves into points.
In the second set, Anderson and Dimitrov held their serve in the opening four games to square off the score at 2-2. The Bulgarian struck in the fifth and consolidated on it to attain a 4-2 lead. The 21-year-old sustained his advantage
till the end and closed it 6-3.
Dimitrov neither hit an ace nor committed any double fault in the second set. He kept his first serve percentage at 68 and won 16 of the 21 points on them. The Bulgarian did not lose even a single point on the second returns, claiming
all four of them.
Just like the previous set, Dimitrov and Anderson won their serve in the first four games of the decider, levelling the score at 2-2. The charged up Bulgarian raised his standard afterwards, as he grabbed four of the following
five games to win it 6-3.
Dimitrov said, while giving an interview after the match, "I was basically kind of stuck after the first set, but thank God it rained so I had time to go back in the locker and had time to review the first set and see what I did
good and see what I did bad. After I think I was just more focused and more steady than him. It was ups and downs, but what's important is the end result. I got a couple of tears. It was a good moment. I always wanted to share this with the people that I love."
The Bulgarian will play the 10th seed, David Nalbandian of Argentina, in the semi-finals. Nalbandian beat Xavier Malisse of Belgium in three sets in the quarters.
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