site.btaGrigor Dimitrov Qualifies for Semi-Finals in Paris

Top Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov qualified on Friday for the second time in his career for the semi-finals of the hard surface Masters Series tournament in Paris with a prize fund of EUR 5.8 million.

Dimitrov overcame No. 11 seed Hubert Hurkacz (POL) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 in 99 minutes and is again among the top four in the tournament after 2019. 

The 32-year-old Bulgarian earned EUR 266,530 and 360 points for the world rankings, in which he occupies the 17th place, but with Friday's success he guaranteed his climb to the 15th position.

Dimitrov took control of the match with an early break and dominated the rest of the first set, giving his opponent just a game. 

In the second set, however, Hurkacz began to find his strongest weapon - his serve. The Pole didn't give Dimitrov many chances on his own serve, and in the tenth game managed to realise his first break to level the score.

The decisive third set also continued evenly, but in the seventh game Dimitrov managed to break through again and that secured his fourth win in four matches against Hurkacz, the second consecutive Masters semi-final after Shanghai, and the ninth overall in his career.

"I played a very good first set, then he started to get his serves in and it got a lot harder. I knew what to expect against him, but I didn't know if I would be able to make a break. In the second set, I tried to wait for my chances, I tried to do something on his serve, but it didn't work, and at the end he evened the score. I'm glad that in the third set I was able to get a break again, and with that the victory. I'm confident, I feel good and that's very important to be able to perform at this level. I think I can play even better," said Dimitrov, who committed only 12 unforced errors in the match.

For a place in the final, the Bulgarian will play the winner of the match between No. 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas (Greece) and 2018 champion Karen Khachanov (Russia), No. 16 seed.

Hurkacz, who finished with 19 aces, has been in excellent form of late, conceding only his third loss in his last 16 matches.