Janko Tipsarevic downs Grigor Dimitrov in the round of 16 – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Ninth seed, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia, scored a comprehensive win over world number 101, Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria, in the fourth round at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami on Tuesday. The Serbian defeated Dimitrov in straight
sets 7-6(3), 6-2 after competing for an hour and 20 minutes and advanced to the last eight.
Dimitrov was having a dream run in this tournament. The Bulgarian had upset 29th seed, Juan Ignacio Chela of Argentina, and seventh seed, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, in the second and third round respectively.
Tipsarevic and Dimitrov put on a brilliant serving display in the opener, as they did not provide each other even a single break opportunity till the end and squared off the score at 6-6, forcing a tie-breaker. The Serbian, however,
struck twice to seal it 7-6(3).
The right-hander, Tipsarevic, had a low first serve percentage but his conversion rate on both first and second deliveries was extraordinary, winning 14 of the 15 and 14 of the 17 points on them respectively. In comparison, Dimitrov
banged in nine aces and captured 22 of the 24 first serve points. However, the Bulgarian was unimpressive on the second deliveries, as he lost nine of the 14 points on them.
Tipsarevic dominated from the beginning in the second set, claiming a breakthrough in the second game and holding his next serve to attain a 3-0 lead. The Serbian hit the second blow in the eighth game to win it 6-2.
The Belgrade, Serbia resident was almost error free on his first serve, pounding four aces and securing 11 of the 12 points on them. The 5ft 11in tall did not come across any break point and capitalised on the two chances he received
in the second set.
The Serbian will take on fourth seed, Andy Murray, in the quarterfinals.
Tipsarevic’s countryman, Novak Djokovic, also joined him in the last eight, beating Richard Gasquet of France in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth round. The top seed took just an hour and 39 minutes to beat the Frenchman.
Djokovic said, after the match, "I have high goals and expectations, but I take one match at a time. Now it's quarter-finals; del Potro, Ferrer, it's gonna be very difficult whoever comes out as winner from that match. But I'm
ready. I feel physically I'm fresh, fit. Mentally I'm always there. I always want to win every match that I play."
The defending champion will meet fifth seed, David Ferrer, in the quarterfinals.
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