site.btaTennis Player Grigor Dimitrov Stuns World No. 2 to Reach His First Miami Semi-Final

Bulgaria's highest ranked tennis player Grigor Dimitrov won 6-2 6-4 over world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz to reach his first ever semi-final at the ATP Masters tournament in Miami on Friday. The 32 years old achieved his 40th victory against a top 10 opponent.

Alcaraz was on a nine-match winning streak and, as the top seed in Miami, entered the court as the favourite. However, Dimitrov's aggressive and varied tennis proved an insurmountable task for the Spaniard.

“I think overall to win against him you have to play at your best, that’s just how it is,” Dimitrov said during his on-court interview after the win. “I was just using every opportunity I had. I think every second serve I had, I was attacking it. I was making sure I was putting him in a very difficult position. I had to keep on being aggressive, come to the net, move the ball around and not let him hit.”

The Bulgarian finished the match with 24 winners and 14 unforced errors, compared to 18 and 17 for Alcaraz. 

"He made me feel like I am 13 years old," said the Spaniard in his post-match press conference. "You know, it was crazy. I was talking to my team saying that I don't know what I have to do."

After qualifying to the Miami semi-finals for the first time, Dimitrov has reached that stage at eight of the nine ATP Masters 1000 tournaments. The win against Alcaraz moved him just 65 points from a return to top 10 for the first time since November 2018. Reaching the final this week will add another 250 points to his tally.

World No. 5 Alexander Zverev stands between Dimitrov, his return to top 10 and a spot in the Miami final. The German leads 7-1 in their head-to-head.