Grigor Dimitrov was eliminated from the Australian Open in the third round after a defeat to Portugal's Nuno Borges, with the final score being 7-6(3), 4-6, 2-6, 6-7(6). Despite entering the match in excellent form, having won all seven of his matches since the beginning of the year and securing the title in Brisbane, Dimitrov faced an unexpected setback against the 69th-ranked Borges, who had only two Grand Slam match wins before this encounter.
The opening set at the "Kia Arena" was evenly contested, with no breakthrough opportunities, and Dimitrov displayed greater solidity in the tiebreak, winning it 7-3. However, in the second set, the Bulgarian missed seven break opportunities, while Borges capitalized on his sole chance, claiming a 6-4 victory. In the third set, the 26-year-old Portuguese dominated the court, breaking Dimitrov's serve twice for a 6-2 success.
Dimitrov mounted a strong response at the beginning of the fourth set, breaking for a 3-0 lead with his first break of the match. He then led 5-2 but faltered when serving for the set. The set eventually went to a tiebreak, during which Borges took a 4-1 lead. Despite Dimitrov's efforts to equalize, including a notable point at 5-5, he squandered a set ball with a double fault. Borges won the next two points, ultimately closing out the match after slightly over three hours of play.
Statistics from the match revealed a close contest, with Dimitrov ending with 47 winning shots against 46 unforced errors, while Borges' balance was 44/42. However, Borges proved more effective in converting break opportunities, securing four breaks out of seven chances, whereas Dimitrov managed to convert only one break in 12 opportunities.
With this loss, Grigor Dimitrov experienced his first defeat of the year and fell short of reaching the round of 16 in Melbourne for the seventh time in his career. On the other hand, Borges will face the third seed, Daniil Medvedev, in the next round, with the Russian having defeated Felix Auger-Aliasim of Canada 6-3, 6-4, 6-3. /BGNES
