Making his third successive appearance at the quarter-finals of the US Open, American Frances Tiafoe takes on Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov on Tuesday.
Over the weekend, Tiafoe defeated Australian Alexei Popyrin in four sets 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3, while Dimitrov needed five sets to eliminate Russian Andrey Rublev 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 3-6 6-3.
Match preview
© Imago
Faced with a bit of adversity for the first time at the US Open this year, Dimitrov came up big when needed on Sunday, advancing to this stage at Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2019.
On that occasion, the Bulgarian upset Roger Federer in five sets, though he lost his previous Grand Slam quarter-final match this year in straight sets versus Jannik Sinner at the French Open.
It took over three and a half hours for him to end his match with Rublev, winning 80% of his first serve points to pull it out.
Sunday was the first time he had lost a set at the US Open this year, but his net approach helped carry him over the line, with Dimitrov boasting a 75%-win percentage in that department.
On the hard court in 2024, the 33-year-old has won 52% of his second-serve return points while converting 33% of his break points on that surface.
Dimitrov has lost his last two Grand Slam quarter-finals, squandering a one-set lead to Aslan Karatsev at the 2021 Australian Open and losing in the last eight of the French Open this year versus Sinner.
© Imago
In his fourth-round encounter against the giant killer from Australia, Frances Tiafoe was on his game once again, winning 77% of his first serve points.
The 20th-ranked player from Orlando only had one double fault, while his opponent registered nine, as the young American converted 60% of his break-point opportunities.
Tiafoe will become the fourth American on Tuesday to appear in three US Open quarter-finals this century, joining some iconic names in Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Pete Sampras.
After experiencing his share of struggles early into the 2024 season, the 26-year-old has strung together some strong tournament performances, making it to the quarter-finals of eight ATP events and booking a place in the semi-finals or further on four of those occasions.
Tuesday will only be his third appearance in a Grand Slam quarter-final, with Tiafoe only advancing beyond that stage once before, defeating Rublev in straight sets at the 2022 US Open before losing in five sets against Carlos Alcaraz in the next round.
He has only won 64% of his service points on the hard court this year and 47% of his return points on that surface in 2024.
Tournament so far
Grigor Dimitrov:
First round: vs. Kyrian Jacquet 6-3 6-4 6-2
Second round: vs. Rinky Hijikata 6-1 6-1 7-6 (7-4)
Third round: vs. Tallon Griekspoor 6-3 6-3 6-1
Fourth round: vs. Andrey Rublev 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 1-6 3-6 6-3
Frances Tiafoe:
First round: vs. Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4 6-3 4-6 7-5
Second round: vs. Alexander Shevchenko 6-4 6-1 1-0 (walkover)
Third round: vs. Ben Shelton 4-6 7-5 6-7 (7-5) 6-4 6-3
Fourth round: vs. Alexei Popyrin 6-4 7-6 (7-3) 2-6 6-3
Head To Head
Rogers Cup (2018) - Third round: Dimitrov wins 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 7-6 (7-4)
Laver Cup (2018) - Dimitrov wins 6-1 6-4
Australian Open (2019) - Fourth round: Tiafoe wins 7-5 7-6 (8-6) 6-7 (7-1) 7-5
Wimbledon (2023) - Third round: Dimitrov wins 6-2 6-3 6-2
In their first Grand Slam meeting in Melbourne, Tiafoe gave up 21 aces but persevered by claiming five break points and walking away with a four-set triumph.
At the All England Club last year, Dimitrov won 93% of his first serves and 56% of his break points, with the American only winning 61% of his first serve points, leading to a straightforward victory for the Bulgarian.
We say: Tiafoe to win in five sets
Both players have experienced their share of lengthy matches at Grand Slams in the past, and the longer this match goes, the more we believe it will favour the American, who seems to be a little quicker moving around the court than the older Dimitrov.
Joel Lefevre
