Grigor Dimitrov upsets Juan Ignacio Chela in the second round clash – If Stockholm Open 2011
Local crowd at Stockholm, Sweden, was in for another surprise, as the world number 28, Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina, crashed out of the competition at the hands of the 70th ranked Bulgarian competitor, Grigor Dimitrov,
in the second round of the If Stockholm Open on Thursday.
Being played on the indoor hard courts, the contest witnessed amazing power hitting from the unseeded Dimitrov to oust the fourth seed Argentine in an exciting three-setter. The Bulgarian settled the final scores at 6-2, 5-7, 6-1,
taking one hour and forty nine minutes of play to make it to the quarter-final round of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 250 event.
It was Dimitrov’s 18th victory of the running year and the first one against Chela in singles encounters. The Unseeded Bulgarian was off to a ballistic start in the opening set and outclasses the fourth seed to get the
upper hand early in the game. Chela made a steady recovery in the second set and brought him down on even terms but his momentum didn’t last for long. The Argentine was absolutely blown away in the final set of the match, with Dimitrov nailing two serve breaks
in a row to register his surprise victory.
“I was struggling a bit at the beginning of the set and definitely [Chela] was raising his game and he made great shots here and there,” said Dimitrov in his post match reviews. “Got a bit confused, got into his game, and I lost
focused a little bit in the second set.”
Dimitrov outplayed his opponent in every segment of the game to come out as the winner in an assertive fashion. He converted six out of 10 break opportunities in the matchup and reeled off 38 out of 54 first serve points en route
to victory.
Chela’s sloppy start in the opening set allowed his opponent to strike two serve breaks early in the game. The Argentine dropped the opener but finally got some impetus in the second set, registering three break points to level
the matchup at one-all. His bleak game play was torn apart by the belligerence of Dimitrov in the final set, as he cruised through to the final eight in style.
The sixth seeded Canadian competitor, Milos Raonic, is up next for Dimitrov for a place in the semis of the If Stockholm Open. Raonic recorded a comprehensive straight sets victory 6-3, 6-3, against Philipp Petzschner of Germany
in the second round of the tournament to book a date with Dimitrov in the round of eight.
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