Festering frustration reddened Hubert Hurkacz’s face like sunburn.
Nemesis Grigor Dimitrov befuddled Hurkacz with fine finesse, made the big man bonkers with angled droppers and drove him up the wall with darting drives.
Contesting his 14th consecutive French Open, Dimitrov maintained his mastery of Hurkacz 7-6(5), 6-4, 7-6(3) becoming the first Bulgarian man to reach the Roland Garros quarterfinals.
The 10th-ranked Dimitrov has now reached quarterfinals or better at all four Grand Slam tournaments and ATP Masters 1000 events.
Producing a near flawless performance, Dimitrov dropped to his knees as tears welled up in his eyes in a moving moment.
PURE EMOTION 🗣️ #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/YOvoCLjpsC
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 2, 2024
A dynamic Dimitrov has dropped just one set in four tournament wins charging into his seventh Grand Slam quarterfinal—and first since 2021 Australian Open.
Since the start of this season, Dimitrov has shown his class on court. Dimitrov opened the year capturing his ninth career title in Brisbane. That was Dimitrov’s first title since he won the 2017 ATP Finals championship at the O2 Arena in London, rising to a career-high ranking of No. 3.
These days, Dimitrov is serving with more self-assurance—he saved six of seven break points today and defended his second serve better than ace-master Hurkacz—covering the court with free-flowing verve and deploying his diversity to unsettle opponents. Dimitrov won 27 of 34 trips to net (79 percent), following some of those drop shots forward to bunt volleys into the open court.
It was Dimitrov’s first career Top 10-win in Paris and extended his career dominance over Hurkacz. Dimitrov is now 6-0 lifetime vs. Hurkacz, his best record against any opponent, sweeping all seven tiebreakers they played.
The red clay has been a launching pad for the resurgent Dimitrov, who will face either Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner or French drop-shot artist Corentin Moutet for a semifinal spot.
The confidence that comes from winning so many tight sets against the same opponent fueled Dimitrov to a one-set lead today. Down 0-2 in the tiebreaker, Dimitrov rolled through six of the next seven points for triple-set point.
On his third set point, Dimitrov converted and Hurkacz had that look of dreaded Deja vu cross his face.
