Tennis News
Dimitrov wins his first title since 2017 in Brisbane
The Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, 14th player in the world, won his first title since 2017 on Sunday by dominating the Danish Holger Rune (8th) in the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
Dimitrov, 32 years old and seeded N.2, beat the 20-year-old (N.1) in a very close match. After a very good end to the 2023 season, the Bulgarian begins 2024 with the 9th title of his career.
After winning four trophies in 2017, including the end-of-year Masters, the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati and, already, the Brisbane tournament, Dimitrov was no longer crowned.
In 2018, he only reached the final in Rotterdam, then nothing until the end of last season. He was then a semi-finalist at the Shanghai Masters 1000 then a finalist at the Paris Masters – defeated by Novak Djokovic.
In a tight match between two players of similar skill level, Dimitrov seized the few chances that came his way to win a hard-fought tie-break, then break Rune at 3-3 in the second set.
He held on to win a high-quality final, winning the match with a backhand volley. A good omen one week before the Australian Open, where he was a semi-finalist during his great year 2017.
A week after the final of the Masters 1000 in Monte-Carlo, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud met on Sunday in the final of the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona.
In the first set, Ruud took advantage of his first set point by making the break at 6-5. his task was easier in the second thanks to a break at 2-1. He then increased his advantage to 4-1, 5-2 and 6-3.
Ruud, finalist of the last two editions of Roland-Garros, won his 11th title in 22 finals, the 10th on clay and the first since that of Estoril, in Portugal, in April last year.
Tsitsipas, 25, who lost his first match of the year on clay, was playing his 29th final. His track record remains rich with 12 titles.
Italian Jannik Sinner (world No. 3) won the Miami Open for the first time by easily dominating Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (No. 12) 6-3, 6-1 in the final on Sunday.
Winner of the Australian Open in January, Sinner (22) has lost only one match out of 23 played this year and will become world No.2 on Monday, his best ranking, behind Novak Djokovic.
Sinner also won the ATP 500 in Rotterdam in February, suffering his only defeat in the semi-final of the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells (California, United States) two weeks ago.
In Miami, he ended up winning after two defeats in the final in 2021 (against Hubert Hurkacz) and 2023 (against Daniil Medvedev).
Sinner was again relentless against Dimitrov (32) on Sunday thanks to his complete, precise and powerful game.
The Italian dominated Dimitrov’s one-handed backhand. The Bulgarian, author of some sublime shots, ended up breaking down by making a lot of mistakes in the second round, when Sinner had erased all errors from his game.
Sinner saved the only break point obtained by Dimitrov, and was able to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the Bulgarian (4 break points converted out of 8), who will return to the world Top 10 (9th) on Monday for the first time since November 2018 .
It’s a pretty incredible scene that took place during the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells, California: a quarter-final between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev had to be interrupted after the invasion of a swarm of bees .
Alexander Zverev, German player ranked 6th in the ATP, and Carlos Alcaraz, Spaniard ranked 2nd in the world, certainly did not expect that during their quarter-final in Indian Wells, California. And even less in the quarter-final of a Masters 1000, the most prestigious tournament category behind the four Grand Slam tournaments which are the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open.
Chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani announced that the match would be suspended until further notice, while some spectators also left the court to protect themselves.
After about 45 minutes, beekeeper Lance Davis, president of Killer Bee Live Removal of Palm Desert, arrived as a savior. Very calmly, the man, who was not wearing any protective suit, vacuumed up the bees, which had taken up residence on the Spidercam. He then took selfies with the public who courageously remained in the stands.
Jannik Sinner wins the Rotterdam tournament
Rybakina wins the Abu Dhabi Open
De Minaur jumps two spots in the ATP rankings to No.10
Arthur Fils eliminates Richard Gasquet in Auckland
Rafael Nadal will miss Australian Open after re-injury
