6th seed Daniil Medvedev locks horns with Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals of the 2023 ATP Rotterdam Open on Saturday.
The former world No. 1 began the tournament with a terrific come-from-behind win against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. After losing the first set, Medvedev bounced back strongly to win the match 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. Medvedev followed it up with a comprehensive win in straight sets against Botic van de Zandschulp. The match ended 6-2, 6-2 in favor of the Russian star.
In the quarterfinals, Medvedev picked up his first top-10 win in 13 months as he made light work of world No. 8 and defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 2021 US Open champion won the match in straight sets 6-2, 6-4. Medvedev is looking in good touch and a win against Dimitrov would take him back into the top 10 of the ATP rankings.
The 31-year-old got off to a flying start in the tournament as he blew away Aslan Karatsev in the round of 32, winning the match in straight sets 6-1, 6-3. In the round of 16, Dimitrov had to dig deep to defeat 5th seed Hubert Hurkacz in a two-set thriller. The match ended 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-5) in favor of the Bulgarian star.
Dimitrov faced Australian youngster Alex de Minaur in the quarterfinals. This turned out to be a classic encounter but Dimitrov used all his experience to win 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6). He saved two match points as well to stay in the clash.
Daniil Medvedev and Grigor Dimitrov have faced each other on six occasions. The Russian star has a 4-2 lead in the head-to-head scoreline. Medvedev comprehensively defeated Dimitrov in their most recent encounter in the 2022 Vienna Open 6-4, 6-2.
Prediction: Daniil Medvedev to win in straight sets.
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