• Wimbledon

Dimitrov on Murray's radar but Ferrer bows out

ESPN staff
June 25, 2014
Grigor Dimitrov could meet Andy Murray at the quarter-final stage at Wimbledon © PA Photos
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While Andy Murray was busy giving a performance of a Wimbledon champion in his destruction of Blaz Rola on Court No.1, Grigor Dimitrov continued to showcase his talents on Centre Court with a 6-3 6-2 6-4 victory against Luke Saville.

Both are now in round three and, while Murray's showing was worthy of a place on SW19's most prestigious show court, Dimitrov did not fail to impress against his Australian opponent in what was his first appearance on Centre.

Should Dimitrov and Murray make it through unscathed, they are on a collision course to meet at the quarter-final stage, what with David Ferrer's early exit to Andrey Kuznetsov.

Dimitrov won the Wimbledon boys' singles title in 2008 and last month took Murray's Aegon title at the Queen's Club. Now, he appears to be after the Brit's Wimbledon crown and his outing against Saville was a clear statement of intent. The 11th seed rattled through the opening set in less than half an hour with a plethora of impressive shots.

The gulf in class was similar, if slightly less apparent, to Murray's steamroller performance and Dimitrov moved two sets to the good in rapid time; this time, the set took only 24 minutes on court.

On his last three appearances at the All England Club, Dimitrov lost at the second round stage. It was not to be a fourth and his patience was rewarded in the seventh game of the third set, when he converted a third break point to move 4-3 ahead.

Dimitrov, currently Maria Sharapova's other half, closed out victory without fuss and is now in the third round for the first time in five appearances at Wimbledon.

"It's the first time I've played on Centre Court. I was extremely happy out there. I'm feeling confident at the moment. Today was one of those days I wanted to enjoy, play some good shots and finish the match in three sets," Dimitrov told the BBC.

"You don't get the chance to go on that court every day, so I wanted to make the most of it. I wanted to play the right shots and be compact. I faced a tough opponent, and I had to be really composed for the whole match.

Andrey Kuznetsov produced thrilling tennis to beat David Ferrer in a dramatic five-setter © Getty Images
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"I love this tournament. Step by step, I'm achieving some of the things that I want, but I'm not done yet."

Seventh seed Ferrer is out after a dramatic five-set defeat to former Wimbledon junior champion Kuznetsov.

Kuznetsov, who beat Brit Dan Evans in the opening round, produced thrilling tennis on court No.2 to ensure he would advance at the expense of the Spaniard, winning through 6-7(5) 6-0 3-6 6-3 6-2. It is the first time in his career that the Russian has won successive matches on grass.

The final set provided rollercoaster entertainment as the world No.118 started with a break of serve only for Ferrer to produce an immediate response and hold serve to move ahead. However, two further breaks followed for Kuznetsov and at 5-2 up, he was serving for the match.

Any nerves Kuznetsov may have suffered certainly never transferred on court; two huge serves and two powerful forehands down the line ensured a game-to-love as well as game, set and match for the 23-year-old. Ferrer, meanwhile, exits before the third round for the first time in 18 grand slams.

Sergiy Stakhovsky, the man who shocked Roger Federer in the second round last year, enjoyed another fine victory as he ousted 12th seed Ernests Gulbis 6-4 6-3 7-6(5) on court No.12.

Kevin Anderson is also through to the third round after beating Edouard Roger-Vasselin 7-6(0) 1-6 6-3 6-4 and is joined by Fabio Fognini and Leonardo Mayer. Fognini beat Tim Puetz 2-6 6-4 7-6(6) 6-3 while Mayer saw off Marcos Baghdatis 7-6(4) 4-6 6-1 6-4.

Alexandr Dolgopolov hit 42 aces to opponent Benjamin Becker's nine as the Ukrainian won through 6-7(4) 7-6 (0) 6-3 6-4 on court No.8.

Marin Cilic came back from a set down against Andreas Haider-Maurer 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-4 while sixth seed Tomas Berdych is through following a 4-6 7-6(5) 7-6(3) 6-1 win over Bernard Tomic.

Mikhail Youzhny, the 17th seed, lost out to Jimmy Wang in four sets while Jeremy Chardy beat Marinko Matosevic in a five-set thriller on court 17.

For a full list of results from day three at Wimbledon, please click here

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