Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the semi-finals of the ATP 250 tennis tournament in Brisbane, Australia after defeating Rinki Hijikata 6-1, 6-4. The meeting lasted about an hour and 20 minutes.
The Bulgarian, ranked number 2 in the main draw, started the match against the representative of the home team with a bang, taking a quick 5-0 game in the opening set. Hijikata got rid of the "pretzel" with a game to nil, and then had two points to return one of the breaks, but Grisho managed to take the lead in the score.
In the second set, the resistance of the Australian ranked 71st in the world was more serious, but his strength was only enough for an honorable loss with 4-6. Grigor had four chances to break after serving at the start of the set, but failed to capitalize on them - however, our best tennis player made no mistake on his own serve to find a place in the semi-finals of his first tournament of the season.
The 32-year-old from Haskovo finished with 12 aces and two double faults, losing just seven points on the first serve and five on the second. He parried both break opportunities against Hidzhikata - Dimitrov had 18 winners and just four unforced errors in the entire match.
In a dispute for a place in the final, he is waiting for the winner of the match, who returned to the court after almost a year's absence, Rafael Nadal, and another Australian in the person of Jordan Thompson.
In the top half of the draw, the semi-final is now clear after leader Holger Rune overcame James Duckworth in straight sets to book a clash with Russia's Roman Safiulin, who eliminated Italy's Matteo Arnaldi. /BGNES
