Grigor Dimitrov upset world No.2 Carlos Alcaraz 5-7 6-2 6-4 to succeed in the quarter-finals on the Shanghai Masters.
Dimitrov, who hadn’t crushed the present Wimbledon champion of their three earlier conferences, was crisp from each wings on Wednesday and used his backhand drop-shot to maintain Alcaraz off steadiness.
The 32-year-old Bulgarian struck 29 winners and 10 aces and fought again after letting slip a 5-3 lead within the first set to succeed in his seventeenth Masters quarter-final.
“I stayed in the match, that was the first thing, especially after the first set,” world No.19 Dimitrov mentioned.
“After the second break in the second set I think I understood his service games and was able to put more balls in and read his serve a bit better.
“In the third set it was a little bit of cat-and-mouse. I feel we each performed a stable set. He made just a few errors and I used to be very stable and served effectively once I needed to.”
Dimitrov will meet Chile’s Nicolas Jarry, who beat wildcard Diego Schwartzmann, of Argentina, 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 to make the last eight of a Masters tournament for the first time.
Ugo Humbert, of France, eliminated J.J. Wolf 6-1, 6-2 in a dominant 58-minute victory. The No.32 seed did not face a break point and had 17 winners to the American’s four.
“It was an excellent efficiency from me, I performed an excellent stage,” Humbert said. “I’m very proud. I used to be actually centered from the start till the tip.
“Last year I was in Challengers, so it’s a great improvement. It’s daily work and we built something good. I’m very happy to be in the quarters here.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
