By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Tuesday September 3, 2019
Grigor Dimitrov crafted a win for the ages in New York to knock out five-time champion Roger Federer in five sets on Tuesday night at the U.S. Open. The Bulgarian trailed by a set and two sets to one but rallied against the 38-year-old to notch a 3-6 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-2 victory.
Federer fails to win the US Open for the eleventh consecutive year and Dimitrov becomes the first unseeded men’s singles semifinalist at the US Open since Mikhail Youzhny in 2006.
The Bulgarian has bucked immense odds to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal since the 2017 Australian Open and just his third overall. After a career year in 2017 Dimitrov has struggled mightily and dropped down to 78 in the world at this year’s US Open.
He has been plagued for much of the season with a shoulder injury but he found a way to find his best tennis in Arthur Ashe Stadium against the great Federer.
“I kept on believing in what I had to do, in my game plan,” Dimitrov said. “I was moving really well. I was hitting my backhand pretty good, changing up the shots.”
Dimitrov entered the night with an 0-7 record against Federer but he was able to outplay his nemesis by stretching out the points with spectacular defense and depth of stroke.
The three hour and 12 minute contest took a toll on Federer and the Swiss took an injury timeout after dropping the fourth for what was an upper back or neck issue.
The No.2-seeded Swiss was never the same from that point on and he won just 13 points in the final set. He won just one return point and Dimitrov converted both of his break points to run away with the win.
“One of the only things for me was try to keep him as much as possible on the court,” Dimitrov said. “I did that very well. A lot of long games. Yeah, clearly in the end he was not at his best. I used every opportunity I had.”
Dimitrov moves on to face Daniil Medvedev in a battle of two players that have yet to reach a major final. That will change—for one of them—on Friday.
Federer once again misses out on a chance to claim his 21st major and his first in New York since 2008. The Swiss tossed in 40 winners against 60 unforced errors and was broken four times by Dimitrov.
He later told reporters that a back issue had cropped up earlier in the day, but he did not want to blame the loss on his health.
“I was able to play,” said Federer. “It's okay. It's how it goes. I tried my best. By far not too bad to give up or anything. Grigor was able to put me away. I fought with what I had. That's it. So it's okay.”