Dimitrov ousts No. 1 seed Alcaraz in Miami Open quarterfinals
Federer to deliver commencement address at Dartmouth
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Eleventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov came out strong against top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday night and went on to win 6-2, 6-4 in the Miami Open quarterfinals, his first victory over a top-five player in nearly five years.
Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev, who beat unseeded Fabian Marozsan 6-3, 7-5, will play Dimitrov in the semifinals Friday. Second-seeded Jannik Sinner will face No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in the other semifinal, a rematch of last year’s final that Medvedev won.
Alcaraz, the 2022 champion, entered this tournament off a victory over Medvedev at Indian Wells. But the world’s second-ranked player had trouble finding his game against Dimitrov and became visibly frustrated numerous times in the first set.
Alcaraz, however, didn’t go away even after falling behind a break at 4-2 in the second set. He broke Dimitrov at love and then held serve to even the set at 4-4. But then Dimitrov won the final two games, breaking Alcaraz in the clincher.
Dimitrov’s last victory over a top-five player was against then-No. 3 Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the 2019 U.S. Open.
On the women’s side, fourth-seeded Elena Rybakina once again had to go three sets, pushed to the edge before beating No. 27 Victoria Azarenka 6-4, 0-6, 7-6 (2) in the semifinals.
Rybakina, ranked fourth on the WTA Tour, will face unseeded Danielle Collins in the final Saturday. Rybakina also made last year’s final, losing in straight sets to Petra Kvitová.
IVY LEAGUE FEDERER: Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer will deliver the commencement address at Dartmouth College in June, the Ivy League school said Thursday.
Federer will address graduates and receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree at the June 9 ceremony in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Dartmouth President Sian Leah Beilock, a Federer fan, said she was thrilled to welcome him to campus.
“Roger Federer is undeniably one the greatest athletes of all time, but it’s the evident joy that he always found on the court that stays with me, and that I think will resonate most with the Class of 2024,” she said in a statement.
Federer retired in 2022 at age 41 after a superlative career that spanned nearly a quarter-century and included 20 Grand Slam titles and a statesman’s role.
In 2003, he created a foundation that has since invested more than $96 million in early education programs serving millions of children living in poverty in Switzerland and six African countries.