Grand Slam crunch: Dimitrov ready to believe?
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — Grigor Dimitrov’s game is textbook. Nick Kyrgios’s is sketchbook.
Together, they created something special Sunday night at the Australian Open: A fourth-round carnival ride that was missing only a fifth set for full-blown transcendence.
A fifth set looked mighty likely after Dimitrov faltered when serving for the match at 5-3 in the fourth.
That fired up Kyrgios and fans in the largely Australian crowd at Rod Laver Arena, a few of whom did their best to disrupt Dimitrov’s rhythm between points and even serves.
Dimitrov, now 26 and seeded No. 3, shrugged off his lapse, as well as Kyrgios’ 36 aces and huge second serves, and found a way to cut this classic match short with a final flourish: a running forehand cross-court winner on the full stretch.
“Believe in yourself,” Kyrgios said to Dimitrov as they embraced at the net after Dimitrov’s 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) triumph.
It was a sportsmanlike, old-school finish to a new-school duel. And it seems about time for Dimitrov to take those words to heart in a major tournament.
For all his evident ability and athleticism, he has yet to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
For all the miles he has travelled and highprofile mentors he has consulted in his journey to excellence that began in his native Bulgaria, he has not yet had the psychic payoff he seeks in an era dominated by the trio of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. But momentum is building. Dimitrov won his most prestigious title at the end of last season: the ATP Tour World Finals in London.
And, though he struggled in the early rounds of this tournament with his onehanded backhand and second serve, hitting 29 double faults in his first three matches, he was much more precise and resolute against the unpredictable Kyrgios.
“That match was incredibly intense, and I think the best man won,” said Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of Serena Williams, as he stood in a corridor in Rod Laver Arena in the aftermath.
Mouratoglou once advised Dimitrov when he trained as a teenager at Mouratoglou’s French academy.
Mouratoglou, ever the talent scout, spotted Dimitrov at the prestigious junior tournament, Les Petits As, in Tarbes, France.
“He is more solid here now,” Mouratoglou said, tapping his temple. “Much more stable.
“He works a lot, is quite consistent in his habits and has created a very solid base for himself. I don’t think it’s the same thing on the other side of the net. In the important moments, that plays a role.”
Mouratoglou was referring to Kyrgios, a 22year-old Australian who continues to resist hiring a full-time coach after working intermittently with former French star Sebastien Grosjean last year.
Matt Reid, Kyrgios’s friend and doubles partner here, has been playing the coaching role at the Australian Open, and Kyrgios is also in close contact with Lleyton Hewitt, the Australian Davis Cup captain.
Kyrgios continues to train and play his way, which seldom means the most consistent way.
“His personality is so different to many of us who have played the game before,” said Hewitt, an analyst for Australia’s Seven Network during Sunday night’s match. “You see him sometimes talking to himself under his breath between first and second serves.”
You saw Kyrgios doing a whole lot more than that Sunday: bantering with his box, complaining loudly about having a racket with the wrong string tension, turning routine shots into more difficult ones and difficult shots into routine ones.
But Kyrgios, who beat Dimitrov on his way to the Brisbane title a few weeks ago, looked much more settled than he did last January. In winning three matches at the Australian Open, he has already won more Grand Slam singles matches in 2018 than he won in all of 2017.