MIAMI TENNIS TOURNAMENT 2016 UPDATE – GRIGOR DIMITROV UPSETS ANDY MURRAY AND ANDY MURRAY UPSETS HIMSELF IN MIAMI

Written by: on 28th March 2016
Miami Open tennis tournament
MIAMI TENNIS TOURNAMENT 2016 UPDATE - GRIGOR DIMITROV UPSETS ANDY MURRAY AND ANDY MURRAY UPSETS HIMSELF IN MIAMI

epa05234094 Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria celebrates his upset against Andy Murray of Great Britain during their third round match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 28 March 2016. EPA/RHONA WISE  |

Dimitrov upsets Murray in Miami, will face Monfils on Tuesday

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

Grigor Dimitrov pulled off one of the biggest wins of his career when he took out Andy Murray 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-3 in the third round of the Miami Open on Monday afternoon. Dimitrov trailed 3-1 in the final set but seized five straight games to wrap up the victory in impressive style after two hours and 25 minutes.

 

It was a much-needed result for the Bulgarian, who currently registers 20 spots off his career-high ranking at 28th in the world. He had not defeated a top-10 opponent since upsetting then-No. 9 Stan Wawrinka at the Monte-Carlo Masters last spring. This is Dimitrov’s second-even win at the expense of a top-2 opponent, having previously stunned world No. 1 Novak Djokovic on the clay courts of Madrid in 2013.

 

“I’m happy,” Dimitrov assured. “Of course I’m happy with that victory. Every time you beat a top player you know you must have done something good.

 

“I played quite a few times against [Murray]. I think we know our games pretty well. I just played better in the good moments today. That’s it. I think I was just a smart player throughout the course of the whole match. Even though I lost the first set, I kept a good composure…. I think when I was 3-1 down in the third set, I really felt that I know I’m going to get another chance because I was returning well, playing very good in the key moments.”

 

Murray played a near-flawless first-set tiebreaker, but he struggled in the pressure-packed moments throughout the duration of the proceedings. After trailing 4-0 in the second set, he had a break point to get back on level terms at 5-5 but could not convert. The Scot also dropped his last three service games of the match without even getting to deuce a single time.

Andy Murray of Great Britain in action against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during their match at the Miami Open tennis tournament on Key Biscayne, Miami, Florida, USA, 28 March 2016. EPA/RHONA WISE

 

“(I made) a lot of unforced errors in the third set for sure,” Murray lamented. “Obviously (I) didn’t start the second set particularly well. After winning a close first set you obviously want to try and put your opponent under pressure. Credit to him. He was more solid than me…. Physically it was okay. I mean, the conditions were actually not that bad today. It was just humid. Obviously the cloud cover helped. It was just very, very humid. Physically I was okay.”

 

Dimitrov will have to be ready for another physical battle against Gael Monfils on Tuesday. Monfils has enjoyed a much more routine trek through the Miami draw, having disposed of Tatsuma Ito and Pablo Cuevas in easy straight sets. Dimitrov, on the other hand, preceded his triumph over Murray by outlasting Federico Delbonis 7-6(8), 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 39 minutes.

 

Joining Dimitrov and Monfils in the last 16 were Nick Kyrgios, Kei Nishikori, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Andrey Kuznetsov.

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

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