Grigor Dimitrov yesterday ended a long wait between ATP titles, beating third-seeded Kei Nishikori 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 to win the Brisbane International final and claim his first tournament victory since 2014.
Dimitrov, dubbed “Baby Fed” earlier in his career for his style similarities with Roger Federer, lost the Brisbane International final to Andy Murray in 2013. He won three titles and reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 2014 as he rose to a career-high ranking of No. 8.
However, his form faded and he slipped down the rankings to No. 40 in the middle of last year before starting a career resurgence and entering the season-opening Brisbane event ranked No. 17 and seeded seventh.
Photo: AFP
“It’s been pretty emotional,” Dimitrov said. “This trophy means a lot.”
“These 10 days out here for this tournament have been the most fun I’ve ever had on a tennis court, and off the court,” he added.
He beat defending champion Milos Raonic in the semi-finals.
Photo: AFP
Against Nishikori, who reached his first Brisbane final after losing three previous semi-finals, he fended off two break points in the first game and another in the third to hold, absorbing all the early pressure before going on the attack and racing through the set.
The second set was almost a reverse of the first, with Dimitrov missing a break point chance early before Nishikori rallied to win it in 33 minutes and level at 1-1.
Nishikori had a medical time-out for what appeared to be a left hip problem and got treatment in the locker room after the second set.
He lost momentum in the third, as Dimitrov upped his level again. The 25-year-old Bulgarian did not drop a point in his first two service games in the third and maintained the pressure on Nishikori’s serve, eventually forcing a break in the eighth game for a 5-3 lead.
He held at love to close out for his fifth career title when Nishikori hit a forehand long.
Nishikori, the 2014 US Open finalist, predicted he would be back again.
“This is my sixth year now and first time I was in the final. So I’m very happy this week,” Nishikori said. “I hope I can come back next year — someday I want to win this title.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
APIA INTERNATIONAL
AP, SYDNEY
Eugenie Bouchard yesterday made the most of her wild-card entry to the Apia International Sydney, beating Zhang Shuai of China 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 in a first-round match.
Bouchard, a 22-year-old former Wimbledon finalist, was last week beaten in the first round of the Brisbane International in her first warm-up tournament for the Australian Open, which begins on Monday next week and where she was a surprise semi-finalist in 2014.
The Canadian went on to make the semi-finals at the French Open that year before losing to Petra Kvitova in the Wimbledon final. Bouchard finished that year ranked seventh, but injuries and poor form since have seen her ranking slide to No. 46.
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Chan Hao-ching and Chan Yung-jan fell in their first-round match against Slovenia’s Andreja Klepac and Spain’s Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-2, 6-2.
Earlier at Sydney, two-time Grand Slam singles champion Svetlana Kuznetsova defeated Irina-Camelia Begu of Romania 6-1, 6-4.
Defending champion Kuznetsova broke the Romanian’s serve in the ninth game of the second set, then held serve to advance to the second round of the ATP-WTA tournament.
Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan advanced when Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, who partnered Roger Federer in last week’s Hopman Cup, retired with a toe injury when Putinseva was up 6-4, 2-3.
In a first-round men’s match in Sydney, France’s Nicolas Mahut beat Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 6-2, 7-6 (7/2).
Earlier, Brisbane International finalists Karolina Pliskova and Alize Cornet withdrew from their next scheduled tournaments due to injuries.
Pliskova, who beat Cornet 6-0, 6-3 at Brisbane on Saturday evening, withdrew from the Apia International Sydney with a left inner thigh injury. Pliskova, who would have been seeded fourth in Sydney, was replaced by lucky loser Roberta Vinci of Italy.
Sydney officials also announced seventh seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine withdrew due to a viral illness.
“I’ve had constant headaches for the last two days and unfortunately in today’s hot weather it got even worse when I was warming up and my body wasn’t ready to compete,” Svitolina said.
Svitolina was yesterday scheduled to play Olympic champion Monica Puig, but Puig will now play a lucky loser from qualifying today.
No. 1 Angelique Kerber and No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska remain in the Sydney tournament.
At the Hobart International, defending champion Cornet withdrew from the tournament with a back injury, a Tennis Australia official said.
The US’ Shelby Rogers posted the first upset of that tournament in the opening match, beating second-seeded Anastasija Sevastova of Latvia 6-2, 1-6, 6-4.
Lizette Cabrera of Australia continued the Hobart trend, beating fifth-seeded Misaki Doi of Japan 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.
Third-seeded Monica Niculescu defeated former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic 6-2, 6-3.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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