MEN’S TENNIS NEWS: GRIGOR DIMITROV GETS ANOTHER MUCH-NEEDED WIN & DAVID FERRER CONTINUES PATH TO LONDON & THE BARCLAYS YEAR END CHAMPIONSHIPS @ THE 02 ARENA BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 22nd October 2015

MEN'S TENNIS NEWS: GRIGOR DIMITROV GETS ANOTHER MUCH-NEEDED WIN & DAVID FERRER CONTINUES PATH TO LONDON & THE BARCLAYS YEAR END CHAMPIONSHIPS @ THE 02 ARENA BY RICKY DIMON

epa04890848 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in action against Andy Murray of Great Britain during their third round match in the Western and Southern Open at the Linder Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, USA, 20 August 2015. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

As he looks to wrap up a disappointing year on a positive note, Grigor Dimitrov booked a spot in the If Stockholm Open quarterfinals by beating Nicolas Almagro 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday. Dimitrov fired 11 aces without double-faulting, lost only seven points in nine service games, and advanced in just one hour and eight minutes.

The Bulgarian is still a modest 30-19 for the season and he has dipped No. 26 in the world. He will face No. 1 seed Tomas Berdych on Friday.

Berdych, who has already secured a spot in the World Tour Finals, ousted 18-year-old German Alexander Zverev 6-3, 6-4. The world No. 5 trailed by a break early in the second but recovered to prevail without too much trouble.

“I’m happy with the way I handled the match, and it’s always helpful to win in straight sets,” Berdych recounted. “There were some ups and downs, but it went well in the end. The conditions were pleasant. I was able to use my experience well to get past a guy with a great future in front of him, and I wish him well.”

David Ferrer hopes to join Berdych in London and the Spaniard took another step in that effort at the Erste Bank Open on Thursday.

Ferrer crushed countryman Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in only one hour and two minutes. The top seed and world No. 8 struck five aces and zero double-faults, while Garcia-Lopez finished with zero aces and five double-faults. Ferrer will lead all other contenders for the final London spot by more than 1,000 points if he goes on to capture the Vienna title.

Up next for the 33-year-old is another chapter in one of the most lopsided “rivalries” on the ATP Tour.

Ferrer is dominating the head-to-head series with quarterfinal opponent Fabio Fognini 8-0, including 17-2 in total sets. Only one of Ferrer’s 17 victorious sets has required a tiebreaker. The two outstanding baseline players have met once in 2015, when Ferrer cruised 6-2, 6-3 in the final of a clay-court event in Rio de Janeiro.

A hard court should actually give Fognini a better chance–something that no one could have said earlier this season. The 22nd-ranked Italian did not win a single match on this surface from January through late August, but he suddenly turned things around at the U.S. Open. A fourth-round performer in New York mainly thanks to a five-set stunner over Rafael Nadal, Fognini boasts 11 hard-court wins following Vienna defeats of Paul-Henri Mathieu and Radek Stepanek.

Another intriguing showdown on Friday pits Ivo Karlovic against Ernests Gulbis.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp World Tour, David Ferrer, Ernests Gulbis, Erste Bank Open, Fabio Fognini, GRIGOR DIMITROV, Guillermo Garcia Lopez, If Stockholm Open, Ivo Karlovic, Men's tennis, Nicolas Almagro, Paul Henri Mathieu, Radek Stepanek, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

October 22, 2015 at 9:25 pm

MEN’S #TENNIS NEWS: #DIMITROV GETS ANOTHER MUCH-NEEDED WIN & #FERRER CONTINUES PATH TO LONDON BY @Dimonator- https://t.co/yi0L01chpQ
Dimonator says:

October 22, 2015 at 9:32 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: MEN’S #TENNIS NEWS: #DIMITROV GETS ANOTHER MUCH-NEEDED WIN & #FERRER CONTINUES PATH TO LONDON BY @Dimonator- https://t.co…