Tennis News: Grigor Dimitrov appears in qualifying for the 2026 US Open season, a rare occurrence. He is a former world number 3 tennis player and reached the semifinals in New York in the 2019 season.
However, injuries and a decline in performance this season caused the Bulgarian tennis player to fall out of the top 100 for the first time since the 2012 season. As a result, because he did not get a wildcard for the US Open, he was forced to take part in the qualifying round in Flushing Meadows, New York, which was only the second time he had experienced this in his career and the first time since the 2009 season.
The 2017 ATP Finals champion was forced to miss the Grand Slam in New York last season for the first time since the 2010 season after suffering a pectoral muscle injury at Wimbledon.
The 35-year-old returned to New York this season with a different status, namely through the qualifying rounds, but he has impressed against the opponents in his match chart so far.
In the first round match, Dimitrov only lost three games against Italian tennis player Lorenzo Giustino, whom he beat 6-0, 6-3. He impressed again in his second qualifying match against Timofey Skatov, whom he also beat 7-6, 6-4.
That means the Bulgarian is now just one win away from reaching the main draw of the US Open, with the ninth seed in the qualifying round, Otto Virtanen, standing in his way.
The former world number 3 has never played Virtanen before, but he is likely aware of the threat the Finnish national poses after the Finnish national beat American Ben Shelton at Wimbledon this season.
Despite being one of the biggest names in the US Open qualifying rounds this season, Dimitrov is not the only star appearing in the early stages of the Grand Slam tournament. Joining the Bulgarian national in the qualifying round were the 2014 season runner up, Kei Nishikori and the 2019 season champion, Bianca Andreescu. Both players also advanced to the final match of the qualifying round.
Canadian Andreescu dropped just six games in her first two qualifying matches and she will hope to continue that form when she faces Tamara Zidansek in the main draw.
Article Tags: grigor dimitrov, kei nishikori, us open, bianca andreescu
Published by Ligaolahraga.com at https://www.ligaolahraga.com/tenis/tika-grigor-dimitrov-besar-lakoni-babak-qualifying-us-open