The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Dimitrov ‘excited’ by reaching semi-finals
Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov beat Daniil Medvedev to reach the semi-finals at Queen’s yesterday and is fast becoming a contender for the Wimbledon title.
Dimitrov was tipped for big things after beating Andy Murray to reach the All England Club semi-finals in 2014 but he lost form and dropped to No 40 in the world.
Now, the 26-year-old, who won 6-3 3-6 6-3 is gaining momentum again and he will face Spain’s Feliciano Lopez today at Queen’s for a place in tomorrow’s final.
“Feli is an extremely good grass court player. He knows his way around the court pretty well. Very experienced, as well,” Dimitrov said.
“I’m in the semi-final of Queen’s. I’m pretty positive, excited to get out there and perform again.
“It’s been a while since I have felt that good on the court, so I’m just going to try to use that momentum, and whoever I play I’m going to focus entirely on my side of the court.”
Lopez, who has always enjoyed playing on grass, is also heading to Wimbledon in a rich vein of form after backing up his run to the final in Stuttgart last week.
The 32-year-old battled past world No 7 Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7/5) 6-7 (1/7) 7-5 to book his place in the last four.
“I’m very happy, everything that has been happening during this week,” Lopez said.
“I think I have been playing great. The fact I reached the finals in Stuttgart was very important for me, coming to Queen’s with a lot of confidence. Hopefully we can continue the great run.”
In the other semi-final, fourth seed Marin Cilic will take on big-serving Gilles Muller from Luxembourg.
Two Americans were defeated as Muller edged past Sam Querrey 6-4 7-6 (7/5) while Cilic beat Donald Young 6-4 7-5.
Roger Federer meanwhile remains on course for a ninth title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle after defeating Florian Mayer in the quarter-finals.
The 35-year-old has found his feet on grass at the most successful tournament of his career after his shock early loss to Tommy Haas in Stuttgart.
He needed just an hour and six minutes to see off German Mayer 6-3 6-4, serving 11 aces and taking two of his 12 break points.
Federer will face Karen Khachanov in the semi-finals.