Wimbledon 2023: Dimitrov beats Taifoe, storms into fourth round for first time since 2017

London, July 9 Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov stormed into men's singles fourth round of the Wimbledon 2023, getting the better of American Frances Tiafoe, who has made it into top-10 in the World Rankings.

Dimitrov, the World No.24 who reached the semifinals of the grass-court major in 2014, turned the clock back as he defeated 10th-seeded Tiafoe, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2, making it to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the first time since 2017.

In the match, which was spliced into half by drenching rain on Saturday evening, Dimitrov outhit the American by 33 winners to 14, did not face a break point and converted five from nine of his own en route to an impressive 99-minute win.

Dimitrov, who led Tiafoe 6-2, 6-3, 1-2 overnight in London, said he was aware the American was a dangerous player and has a lot of flare around the court.

“He’s such a dangerous player, I knew I had to be very focused,” said Dimitrov. “He’s a player that has a lot of flare around the court. Great serve, a great return, so I was just looking after my game, to be honest. The past weeks have been amazing weeks for me, out here in England. I’m just enjoying every single day," the Bulgarian was quoted as saying by the official website.

Dimitrov has enjoyed consistent results at the majors this year, having also reached the third round of the Australian Open and the fourth round of Roland Garros. He had not conceded a set coming into this match, although he had met significantly less resistance.

However, the Bulgarian is still looking to snap a near-six-year title drought dating back to his triumph at the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals, a result which saw him finish the year at No. 3 in the ATP Rankings.

Dimitrov served superbly, blasting 13 aces compared to five by Tiafoe, he also served three double faults. Dimitrov won 40 out of his 65 first serves (62%) and won five out of the nine break points. Taifoe failed to bag even a single break point.

--IANS