Only three of the top four seeds will play in the Miami Open semifinals on Friday, because Grigor Dimitrov made sure that Carlos Alcaraz would not be part of the party.
Dimitrov stunned Alcaraz 6-2, 6-4, delivering an incredible performance over the course of one hour and 32 minutes. The Bulgarian saved all four of the break points he faced during a dominant first set and won a more competitive second set by breaking Alcaraz at 5-4.
Dimitrov’s level left Alcaraz positively befuddled.
“He played amazing tennis,” said Alcaraz, who also lost the 32-year-old last fall in Shanghai. “Almost perfect if I can say. I couldn’t find solution, a way to make him feel uncomfortable on the court. (It was) a great game on his side.
“I think I played a good tennis. I left the court thinking that probably I needed to [raise] my game a little bit earlier…. I have frustration right now because he made me feel like I’m 13 years old. That was crazy. I told to my team that I didn’t know what to do.”
“In order to win against him, you have to play at your best,” Dimitrov said of the 20-year-old Spaniard. “That’s just how it is. I was very focused and extremely clear with what I had to do. I was really able to dictate the game. It was a very great match on my end.”
The world No. 12 is now a respectable 2-3 lifetime against Alcaraz, but he is 1-7 against semifinal opponent Alexander Zverev.
Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev will square off in the other semifinal.
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