Spanish world number two Carlos Alcaraz was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the ATP Masters 1,000 tournament in Miami (USA) by Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets, 6-2, 6-4, in a match played on Thursday night.
Alcaraz, the main favorite of the competition in Florida, had come to Miami surrounded by success at Indian Wells (California), where he managed to defend his title two weeks ago.
However, the Iberian could not cope with the particularly incisive game displayed by Dimitrov since the beginning of the match, who managed a total of 24 “winners”, ending the accounts with Alcaraz after an hour and 34 minutes of play, under the gaze of celebrities such as Mike Tyson and Jimmy Butler, who were in the stands.
“Grigor made me feel like a 13-year-old child. It was crazy, I didn’t know what to do, he had no weaknesses. u-I remember feeling something like that in another game” said Carlitos after the game.
Informed by these flattering words addressed by Alcaraz, Dimitrov amused himself abundantly, probably not imagining that his opponent felt like a child without solutions.
“That’s a great comment“, said the athlete from the Balkans in the press conference.
Dimitrov, about how he defeated Alcaraz
As for the “secrets” of the victory, Dimtrov believes that a key was not letting Carlitos play his game. If you allow Alcaraz to hit the way he wants and don’t keep him constantly under pressure, you don’t stand a chance against him.
“I always say that Alcaraz is incredibly explosive, he’s incredible. I love watching him play or practice. I’m 12 years older than him and it’s really fun for me to be able to challenge myself in this way.
You can’t let him hit if you want to have a chance against him. I already saw what can happen in the second set when he broke me. There was nothing I could do, I just had to be patient. I knew I would get another chance and I didn’t back down. I believed in my game and the successful executions were perfect.
I like Carlos’ game. He is one of the most skilled players out there. Sometimes I see myself reflected in it at certain times, so I can guess what might happen, even if it doesn’t always happen the way I think. He is very explosive and you always have to put him in an uncomfortable situation.
Sometimes you have to put power into your shots to keep him at bay. This is especially interesting in the tender spots. It’s like playing cat and mouse and waiting to see who strikes first. I’m sure he feels the same wayDimitrov said.
Asked if he expected to beat Alcaraz, who was coming off a 10-match winning streak and had dominated in an emphatic manner at Indian Wells, the player from south of the Danube admitted that he was not overly optimistic before the clash, especially since in the last few days he did not feel very comfortable at the training sessions between the parties.
“No, not really. In the last two or three days I have been hitting hard in practice. Conditions change a lot from day to day. I’m always trying something new in my game and now everything seems to work out for me. I’m very proud of the team I have and how much they’ve helped me stay in my bubble, detached from everything, no pressureGrigor also said.
For the first time in the semi-final in Miami, Dimitrov ticked off the 40th victory of his career against an ATP top 10 player and, if he reaches the final, he will return to the top 10 in the world for the first time since October 2018.
With victories over Hurkacz and Alcaraz, in the eighths and quarters, Dimitrov ticked off the first consecutive successes against two ATP top 10 players since the Champions Tournament in 2017. Then, Grigor won the competition.
In the semifinals, the athlete from the Balkans will meet Alexander Zverev, who didn’t give any chance to Fabian Marozsan, whom he passed 6-3, 7-5. The German and the Bulgarian have met 8 times so far, with Sascha winning 7 times (4 times last year, when they met both at Roland Garros and the US Open). In the other semi-final, the duel between Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev will take place, in a repeat of the Australian Open final, won by the Italian after leading 2-0 in sets.
