By Leobert Julian A. de la Peña
Former world no. 3 male tennis player Grigor Dimitrov turned back the hands of time and is once again playing high-level tennis after marching to the third round of the Wimbledon Grand Slam tournament last July 7, 2023.
The Bulgarian heavy-hitter dispatched Belarusian foe Ilya Ivashka in three sweeping sets- 6.3, 6.4, 6.4- and notched his second-straight 3-0 victory in the most prestigious grass court surface tournament in the sport.
After a masterclass display against Sho Shimabukuro of Japan during the first round, Dimitrov showed he still got enough gas left in the tank against the younger Belarusian.
Dimitrov showed flashes of his old self after flaunting several backhand winners that wowed the crowd present in the playing venue.
From his signature blazing one-handed backhands to his unpredictable drop shots generated off unusual angles, Dimitrov gave the Wimbledon tennis fans the treat they deserved.
Aside from his booming groundstroke display, Dimitrov’s steady service game was also on point after tallying a total of eight aces built from an 80%-win rate on his first service possession.
Dimitrov was just determined to advance to the next round after giving Ivashka the business midway through the second set.
Despite Ivashka’s well-placed drop shots followed by several lops with hopes of tiring out the Bulgarian star, Dimitrov just showed off-the-charts endurance after protecting his area from the baseline to his no man’s land.
Dimitrov’s perseverance then helped him gain full control of the match’s pace and iced the last set with his powerful down-the-line baseline winners.
The Bulgarian is currently ranked no. 24 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and is seeking to re-enter the top 10 again.
Up next for Dimitrov is rising tennis star from America Frances Tiafoe who earlier took down Dominic Stephan Stricker in the second round.
