Grigor Dimitrov continued his semi-resurgence with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Ivo Karlovic to reach the Rogers Cup quarterfinals. Dimitrov reached the quarterfinals of any event for the first time since his infamous meltdown in the finals of Istanbul.
Dimitrov breaks midway through the first set to take the lead
The form of these two players could not have been more stark entering this match as Karlovic has made back-to-back finals, winning in Newport while finishing runner-up in Washington D.C. Dimitrov has barely been winning matches lately and was seeking his first quarterfinal since May. Neither player was making much of an impression on the other's serve and through the first five games, the returner had won just five points. The only break chance came midway through the set in the sixth game, Dimitrov taking it and breaking to 15 for a 4-2 lead. That would be all he'd need as he ably and confidently closed out the set to 30 three games later, taking it 6-3.
Dimitrov again needs just one break to take the set and with it the match
Dimitrov was now operating with the lead and he was having no trouble on serve while continuing to make inroads on Karlovic's serve, the first deuce game coming at 2-2. Karlovic held, but faced break point in the seventh game, but saved that to take a 4-3 lead. He nearly went out in front as he had his first break chance of the match the very next game, but Dimitrov denied him and the set remained on serve. The key games came late as again Dimitrov was threatened on serve, Karlovic with a set point at 5-4, but the Bulgarian again fought that off. The next game was the decisive one was Dimitrov broke on his third chance to take a 6-5 lead. Those two swing games lasted a combined 22 points. Dimitrov served out the match to love, winning the set 7-5 and booking a quarterfinal date with third seed Kei Nishikori.
By the numbers
Dimitrov neutralized the Croatian's advantage on serve with 14 aces while Karlovic committed seven double faults as compared to only three for Dimitrov. The Bulgarian was also sterling on serve, getting 74% (48 of 65) of his first serve deliveries in while winning an astounding 43 of 48 (90%) points. Dimitrov has never beaten Nishikori, losing both career meetings to the former U.S. Open finalist, a first-round defeat in the 2013 Shanghai Masters by a 6-3, 6-4 score and a 7-6 (1), 7-5 loss in the second round of the 2014 Miami Masters.