I'm at a very different stage in my life and my career. This was said by Grigor Dimitrov after his victory over Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals in Miami. Grigor won 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-4 in nearly two hours and 40 minutes of play to book a place in a third Masters 1000 final where he will face second seed Jannik Sinner, who gave only three games to last year's champion Daniil Medvedev.
"Right now I'm fighting my own battles, my own race. I think it all comes from the hard work we've put in as a team. I'm at a very different stage in my life and my career. A lot of work has been done. I've continued to believe, to blossom. ..this is just the icing on the cake", began Dimitrov, who with his win returned to the top 10 for the first time in 260 weeks.
Regarding the battle with Zverev, the 32-year old from Haskovo said: "It was a great fight from both sides. I think we both played at a very high level, especially after the first set, he raised his game and was very strong throughout the second set, as well as in the tiebreak. He was constantly pressuring me. In the third he had a break point. But I served well and then I kept looking for my shots. I think in the end I controlled the rallies more and moved the ball very well", added the Bulgarian, who ended a streak of seven straight losses to Zverev. His only win until this semi-final in Miami came at the 2014 Basel tournament.
The prize for Dimitrov is the final in Florida, where Sinner is the opponent. The Italian, who has lost two finals in Miami, leads 2-1 in head-to-head clashes with Grigor, winning in Miami and Basel last season. The final is tomorrow night. /BGNES
