Playin in a grass-court quarter-final for the first time on Friday, Carlos Alcaraz used a fast start and a strong finish to defeat Grigor Dimitrov at the Cinch Championships.
The Spaniard's 6-4, 6-4 victory extends his edge to 3-0 in the pair's Lexus ATP Head2Head and moves him to 5-4 lifetime on grass courts. With his first Top 30 win on the surface, he advances to the semi-finals for the eighth time in his nine events this season — his lone early exit coming in the Rome third round.
Alcaraz improved to 8-0 in tour-level quarter-finals this season by winning six of the match's final seven games after falling behind 0-3 in the second set at The Queen's Club in London. After Dimitrov stopped a run of four straight games to break for 4-4, Alcaraz took advantage of a loose service game from the Bulgarian to storm through the finish line.
[BREAK POINT]
After breaking in the opening game of the match, Alcaraz did not create another break chance until he broke for 2-3 in the second. Dimitrov settled in and attacked the 20-year-old with his all-court game, but the Spaniard landed some crucial drop shots as he began to turn the tide.
The match was poised for more drama at 4-4, but Alcaraz won eight of the last nine points to set up a semi-final showdown against Sebastian Korda. The American was a 7-6, 7-6(1), winner against home favourite Cameron Norrie earlier on Friday.
Dimitrov, the lone former champion in the London quarter-finals, was denied his first Top 10 win on grass since he beat Andy Murray at Wimbledon in 2014.
from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/937jFfo
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