The fourth day at Flushing Meadows in Nw York has delivered another shocking and hard-to-anticipate result, as Grigor Dimitrov (9 ATP) and the seventh seed was ousted by Andrey Rublev (53 ATP). The 19-year-old Russian player didn't drop a set to Dimitrov.
On the other side, the 26-year-old Bulgarian ended his bid for a deep run at 2017 Us Open Tennis Championships. Trying to maintain the momentum on his side, 2017 Cincinnati titlist was totally outplayed by the younger opponent from Russia. With Dimitrov and Alexander Zverev out of the contest, those who dominated the North American outdoor summer swing are out of the equation from the second round.
A shocking reality, but some may see it as part of the ongoing trend in New York.
Andrey Rublev played on his own terms
Entering the encounter with no common history whatsoever, Rublev was probably aware of Grigor Dimitrov's status. Thus he went on playing with his own rhythm by not letting Dimitrov settling in or gather momentum. Even so, the Bulgarian seemed to have the upper hand in the first two sets. But, each time, despite being a break behind, the Russsian newcomer didn't abandon the fight. Moreover, he started to deliver an increased level of aggressiveness and some outstanding winners canceling all the leverage Dimitrov had. Winning the opening set by 7-5 allowed the youngster to calm down and pursue a certain pattern of play.
The next set went down to a tie-break where Dimitrov failed handing a two set lead to his opponent.
In the meantime, Dimitrov's serve was below standards as he ended up the match with 11 under his belt. Even the winners' ratio was pretty much even, 36 from Rublev with 35 from the Bulgarian racket. The newcomer had the clearer head in the key moments, at 5-5 in the opening set and in the tie-break of the second one.
The third set saw Rubles dominating the encounter. As Dimitrov seemed to have abandoned the fight a single break was enough to seal off a huge upset and a huge win for the young Russian player. Andrey Rublev will face Damir Dzumhur (56 ATP) next.
Dimitrov didn't handle the pressure
It's been a while since Grigor Dimitrov was in the headlines at a Grand Slam tournament.
After reaching the semis of the Australian Open back in January, he entered another phase of poor results and lack of consistency. His revived game helped him win his first Masters 1000 of his career just before US Open. As in Alexander Zverev's case too, the level of expectations being that high can hamper the overall tennis output.
An early exit in New York is not the end of the world as he will have plenty of time to recover for the Asian leg and then the last indoor session in Europe. With a solid game, he can produce further damages. After all, there are two Masters 1000 to be decided later this autumn, Shanghai and Paris.
