Grigor Dimitrov stuns Carlos Alcaraz
Joins Shanghai last eight
Thursday, 12 October 2023
SHANGHAI, Oct 11 (AFP): Grigor Dimitrov fought back to beat top seed Carlos Alcaraz in three sets and reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday in the latest upset at the Shanghai Masters.
The 18th seed won 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 against an out-of-sorts Alcaraz as the Bulgarian steps up his pursuit of a first ATP title since 2017.
He will next face the 22nd-seeded Nicolas Jarry after the Chilean defeated wild card Diego Schwartzman 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.
The first Shanghai Masters since the pandemic has opened up for Dimitrov after the early exits of Daniil Medvedev, Stefanos Tsitsipas and Holger Rune.
World number one Novak Djokovic is not in China.
"I'm still here, I'm not going anywhere," the 32-year-old Dimitrov said afterwards.
Spain's Alcaraz, the world number two, was chasing a seventh tour-level title of the season but he uncharacteristically crumbled after winning the first set.
The 20-year-old Alcaraz took time to find his range and Dimitrov broke for 3-2 in the first set with a vicious whipped forehand return.