Spoiler:
Twelve months ago, Grigor Dimitrov needed to save two match points to beat hometown favourite John Millman at the Brisbane International.
On Wednesday, however, Dimitrov needed only two sets. The 2017 champion held off a second-set comeback to accelerate his clean start to the 2019 season, 6-3, 6-4.
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“I remember what happened last year... Obviously I thought about that in the past days, since I knew that I had to play against him, and I was just trying to do things that were better than last year,” Dimitrov said.
The sixth seed led by a set and double break, 6-3, 4-1. But Millman served for a 5-4 advantage before Dimitrov broke for the fourth time and then served out the second-round match.
“Full respect to him. He's an unbelievable fighter, as we saw again today, especially in that second set... But I managed to keep my composure really good throughout the whole match, especially at 4-4,” Dimitrov said.
Millman said Dimitrov showed his true potential to reach the last eight. “I thought he played great tennis. Stingy with his errors, very aggressive, first set especially,” Millman said. “We all know what Grigor is capable of when he's playing good tennis, and today, I think he showcased just why people see him as a Top 10 player.”
The Bulgarian is into the quarter-finals for the sixth time in seven Brisbane appearances. He will next meet second seed Kei Nishikori of Japan, who beat American Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-2. Nishikori won 84 per cent of his first-serve points and didn't face a break point.
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“I thought it was a good match, tough match. He was playing good, especially in the first set... and after 5-5 I think he dropped his level a little bit, and I also [was] able to play better. I started playing better, playing more aggressively and started getting more rhythm, and my serve got better in the second,” Nishikori said.
Nishikori leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Dimitrov 4-1. The only matchup Dimitrov won came in the 2017 Brisbane final. “[I'm] excited to play Dimi. He's obviously a good player. And I'm sure it's going to be a great match, so hopefully I can have good tennis again,” Nishikori said.
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Japanese qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama earned the upset of the tournament so far. The 26-year-old, No. 185 in the ATP Rankings, dismissed third seed Kyle Edmund of Great Britain 7-6(6), 6-4.
Uchiyama hit 15 aces and saved all three break points faced to knock out the World No. 14 Edmund, who made the Australian Open semi-finals last year. Uchiyama will next meet Jeremy Chardy, who beat Aussie Nick Kyrgios 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3.
For a set and a half, defending champion Kyrgios was nearly invincible on serve. The Aussie won 100 per cent (25/25) of his first-serve points in the opening set and led Chardy 7-6(5).
But Chardy caught on in the second, breaking Kyrgios with a clean forehand return winner for a 4-2 lead and again to even their second-round contest. The Frenchman then pulled a Kyrgios and dominated the decider, dropping only five service points (20/25) to advance.
“It was a tough match. Nick is an amazing player, he served amazing. Today I played really solid, I'm really happy with the win. Sorry for Nick, he's my friend outside the court. It's always difficult to play against someone you like,” Chardy said.
On Wednesday, however, Dimitrov needed only two sets. The 2017 champion held off a second-set comeback to accelerate his clean start to the 2019 season, 6-3, 6-4.
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“I remember what happened last year... Obviously I thought about that in the past days, since I knew that I had to play against him, and I was just trying to do things that were better than last year,” Dimitrov said.
The sixth seed led by a set and double break, 6-3, 4-1. But Millman served for a 5-4 advantage before Dimitrov broke for the fourth time and then served out the second-round match.
“Full respect to him. He's an unbelievable fighter, as we saw again today, especially in that second set... But I managed to keep my composure really good throughout the whole match, especially at 4-4,” Dimitrov said.
Millman said Dimitrov showed his true potential to reach the last eight. “I thought he played great tennis. Stingy with his errors, very aggressive, first set especially,” Millman said. “We all know what Grigor is capable of when he's playing good tennis, and today, I think he showcased just why people see him as a Top 10 player.”
The Bulgarian is into the quarter-finals for the sixth time in seven Brisbane appearances. He will next meet second seed Kei Nishikori of Japan, who beat American Denis Kudla 7-5, 6-2. Nishikori won 84 per cent of his first-serve points and didn't face a break point.
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“I thought it was a good match, tough match. He was playing good, especially in the first set... and after 5-5 I think he dropped his level a little bit, and I also [was] able to play better. I started playing better, playing more aggressively and started getting more rhythm, and my serve got better in the second,” Nishikori said.
Nishikori leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head series against Dimitrov 4-1. The only matchup Dimitrov won came in the 2017 Brisbane final. “[I'm] excited to play Dimi. He's obviously a good player. And I'm sure it's going to be a great match, so hopefully I can have good tennis again,” Nishikori said.
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Japanese qualifier Yasutaka Uchiyama earned the upset of the tournament so far. The 26-year-old, No. 185 in the ATP Rankings, dismissed third seed Kyle Edmund of Great Britain 7-6(6), 6-4.
Uchiyama hit 15 aces and saved all three break points faced to knock out the World No. 14 Edmund, who made the Australian Open semi-finals last year. Uchiyama will next meet Jeremy Chardy, who beat Aussie Nick Kyrgios 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3.
For a set and a half, defending champion Kyrgios was nearly invincible on serve. The Aussie won 100 per cent (25/25) of his first-serve points in the opening set and led Chardy 7-6(5).
But Chardy caught on in the second, breaking Kyrgios with a clean forehand return winner for a 4-2 lead and again to even their second-round contest. The Frenchman then pulled a Kyrgios and dominated the decider, dropping only five service points (20/25) to advance.
“It was a tough match. Nick is an amazing player, he served amazing. Today I played really solid, I'm really happy with the win. Sorry for Nick, he's my friend outside the court. It's always difficult to play against someone you like,” Chardy said.