Grigor Dimitrov Upsets Roger Federer to Advance to 2019 U.S. Open Semifinals
September 4, 2019
Grigor Dimitrov, the 78th-ranked men's player in the world, defeated No. 3 Roger Federer in a five-set thriller in the U.S. Open quarterfinals in New York on Tuesday.
US Open Tennis @usopenSemifinal bound ➡️ Grigor Dimitrov scores his first ever win over Roger Federer, defeating the five-time champion 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. @GrigorDimitrov | #USOpen https://t.co/HAzYVIahdE
The unseeded Dimitrov beat the 20-time major winner 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
The 28-year-old was impressive all night, perhaps never more so than when he was up 5-4 in the fourth set. Once there, Dimitrov warded off a triple break point (and five break points total) to tie the match at two sets apiece.
ESPN @espn🚨 UPSET ALERT 🚨 Watch the deciding fifth set between Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov live on ESPN! https://t.co/8G9w7T2H6C
After that, Federer took a medical timeout for an undisclosed reason for close to 10 minutes. He returned to the court but was clearly not the same player, as Jose Morgado of the Diario Record noted:
José Morgado @josemorgadoOff court MTO for Federer, who looked like feeling some back pain during the 4th set.
José Morgado @josemorgadoFederer can’t really play at the moment. Never retired from a match in his career, won’t be today. Dimitrov 4-0
After the match, Federer revealed that is dealing with an upper back ailment but gave credit to his opponent for the win, per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times:
Ben Rothenberg @BenRothenbergFederer said it was an upper back issue which started this afternoon, but doesn’t want to dwell on it. “This is Grigor’s moment and not my body’s moment.” #USOpen
While Federer may have played at less than 100 percent, Dimitrov's win was well-deserved considering his sensational return game, historical record against his opponent prior to Tuesday and rough recent stretch.
Dimitrov won 48 percent of his second return points (27-of-56) compared to 30 percent (12-of-40) for Federer. He also had just 41 unforced errors to Federer's 60.
ESPN @espnGrigor Dimitrov did a split to get this point against Roger Federer 😱 After dropping the first set, Dimitrov battles back to take the second set at the #USOpen https://t.co/pzNFSyFQQs
US Open Tennis @usopenLeading 4-2, the Bulgarian continues to bring the fight 💪 @GrigorDimitrov | #USOpen https://t.co/bHwBSluGcg
He dominated in the fifth and final set, breaking Federer twice en route to a 4-0 lead and an eventual 6-2 victory.
Dimitrov also won one more set Tuesday than he had against Federer in seven lifetime matches, all of which were losses.
Lastly, Dimitrov was not enjoying a successful season leading into the U.S. Open, as Tumaini Carayol of the Guardian wrote:
Tumaini Carayol @tumcarayolGrigor Dimitrov played a full schedule 20 tournaments last year, compiled a 16-18 record, fell 70 spots from 8 to 78th, lost to the #405 about 6 weeks ago. Now he's in the US Open semis after beating Roger Federer. What a turnaround.
A significant shoulder injury has hindered the world's former No. 3 player, who has now made three grand slam semifinals. He was off the tour for a few months to recuperate.
However, he seems well past that injury now, and his win will certainly make a few people happy as Arash Madani of Sportsnet wrote:
Arash Madani @ArashMadaniDimitrov is almost universally liked and respected among his peers. With the ups and downs he's had, through the struggles he's endured, you have to believe there are many in that locker room who are rooting for him in this spot.
Tennis commentator Nick McCarvel summed up the night well:
Nick McCarvel @NickMcCarvelRegardless of how you feel, this is a MOMENT for Grigor Dimitrov. Ranked 78th. The last 20 months have been nightmarish. And here he is... back into a major SF at the 2019 #usopen
Dimitrov will now face No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, who beat Stanislas Wawrinka in the quarterfinals. The two men have split their two matches, both of which occurred in 2017. Their rubber match will take place Thursday at a time to be determined.
The winner will advance to the finals and face the last man standing on the opposite side of the draw.
No. 24 Matteo Berrettini will face No. 13 Gael Monfils in one quarterfinal, and No. 20 Diego Schwartzman will look to upset No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the other.
Those matches will take place Wednesday, with the semifinal occurring Friday and the final taking place Sunday.





Serena Williams Wins 100th US Open Match