Carlos Alcaraz, the number one seed, was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the Masters 1000 in Miami on Thursday, beaten sharply 6-2, 6-4 by the Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, who had already defeated the Spaniard in Shanghai at the ‘autumn.
Dimitrov, 12th player in the world, will play his third semi-final at the age of 32 during his last four Masters 1000, facing the German Alexander Zverev (5th), winner of the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan (57th), 6-3, 7-5 .
The Bulgarian, former world No.3, is therefore a repeat offender, since he had already beaten Carlos Alcaraz, in the round of 16, at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai last October.
This time, the game was even less easy as the young Spanish prodigy had nine victories in a row, and dreamed of a “Sunshine double” – literally “doubled with the sun” – as the fact is called in the United States. to triumph at Indian Wells, which he won earlier this month, then in Miami.
But the world number two fell on a bone: Dimitrov was particularly aggressive in the game, taking all the risks, with 24 winning shots. Over the entire match, he won 44% in second serve returns, double that of the Spaniard.
As a result, the Bulgarian immediately broke away 3 games to zero before folding the first set 6-2 in 49 minutes.
“I went into the match very focused and I think I was very clear on what I had to do,” commented the player with nine titles on the circuit, including a Masters 1000, in Cincinnati in 2017.
“To win against him (Alcaraz, Editor’s note), you have to play at your best level. That’s how it is,” he added.
“His game was perfect”
“Sometimes, the genius is in simplicity. It’s very, very difficult to do, especially when you play against such an opponent,” commented the Bulgarian, who did not change his principle in the second round.
He quickly broke again, in the 4th game, before seeing Carlos Alcaraz return to his level at 4-4. But Dimitrov, after winning his face-off, concluded on an opponent’s serve, in barely 1h 32 min.
Carlos Alcaraz on the defensive during his defeat against Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, in the quarter-final of the Masters 1000 in Miami, March 28, 2024 / AL BELLO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
“I’m very frustrated, because he gave me the impression that I was 13 years old. You know, it was crazy,” Alcaraz reacted.
The Spaniard felt he played better than in his defeat against the Bulgarian in Shanghai. “In China, I made more mistakes, in the first and second balls.” “But I think he played even better today. I didn’t find any solutions… His game was perfect.”
Besides Dimitrov-Zverev, the other half will see Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev face off on Friday, in a remake of the final of the Australian Open won at the end of the suspense by the Italian, in five sets, there is two months in Melbourne.
In the women’s tournament, the American Danielle Collins, who announced her retirement at the end of the year, qualified for the final by beating the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (6-3, 6-2).
Collins, who will appear in her first final in this premier tournament category at the age of 30, will face Kazakh Elena Rybakina on Saturday.