www.silverguide.site –

Twelve months ago, when Grigor Dimitrov tore his pectoral muscle as he was closing in on victory over Jannik Sinner, the Bulgarian was distraught. Not only had he been outplaying the now world No 1, but he had been playing some of the best tennis of his career. Clutching his chest on Centre Court, he didn’t know how long he would be out or even if he would ever get back to the same level. When Sinner won the title, well, you can guess his thoughts.

On Saturday, Dimitrov edged out a valiant Matteo Berrettini, who has been beset by injuries ever since he reached the final at Wimbledon in 2021, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 to earn himself a place in the last 16 and a shot at redemption, and perhaps much more. He’ll meet Arthur Fery, the British wildcard who edged out Zizou Bergs in a deciding-set tie-break.

“Honestly it’s amazing to be back here,” said a jubilant Dimitrov, who hurdled the net to embrace Berrettini at the end. “I’m just so happy, so happy. Honestly I just wanted to come and compete again in front of you guys. There’s something special in the air.

“He played amazing in the third and fourth [sets]. I had chances but he started serving so well. I had to reframe my mind just to stay positive and say I’d get a chance. I didn’t know when but in the end I served really well the last three games.

“After last year I would never know what would have happened. But guess what, I am back here and I’m aiming to rewrite everything again. Let’s keep the good times going.”

This was dubbed “the pretty match” by Dimitrov, a tongue-in-cheek nod to the two men’s looks, but also their attractive game styles. The pair hit more backhand slices than any other players in the game, keeping the ball low and moving their opponent out of their comfort zone.

Dimitrov broke early in the first set on his way to a lead he never looked like giving up and though the second set was tighter, he broke again in the ninth game and served out to double his lead. The differences at that stage were on second serve; Dimitrov won 74% of points on his while Berrettini was as low as 20% on his own. Dimitrov’s superior net play also paid dividends.

Just when it looked like it would be an easy night, though, Berrettini broke for a 4-2 lead in the third set then cut the deficit in half. The roof was then closed, much to Dimitrov’s annoyance, and the Italian broke for 3-1 in the fourth. Though Dimitrov broke back, Berrettini snatched another for 6-5 and then levelled the match.

The momentum was with Berrettini but Dimitrov gathered himself to break for 2-1 and he held the advantage throughout the final set, clinching victory on his second match point when Berrettini walloped a forehand long.

The fifth seed, Alex de Minaur, beat the American Zach Svajda 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 to reach the fourth round here for the fourth time in five years. After shaking off the loss of the second set, the Australian advanced to a clash with Flavio Cobolli, the runner-up at last month’s French Open.

“I need to remind myself more frequently that best-of-five is a completely different beast, right?” said De Minaur. “I normally get a little bit frustrated if the opponent plays a good set, but what I really should be thinking is that they need to do that for three sets in a row. That’s not the easiest task to accomplish.”

The French Open champion Alexander Zverev equalled his best ever Wimbledon run, reaching the fourth round with a 6-2, 7-6 (4), 6-4 win over Marcos Giron of the US. The sixth seed, Taylor Fritz, saw off Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (5).