Alexander Zverev is playing at the Roland Garros like he never left, comfortably beating Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.
Until the fourth-round meeting with the 22nd-seeded German, Dimitrov was playing really well in Paris, not losing any set on his way to the match. On the other hand, Zverev dropped one set with Frances Tiafoe but dominated in the first two matches.
For the two, it was their fifth meeting on the ATP Tour, and after the Bulgarian won in their first match, Zverev won the following three, with the last being coincidentally in Paris. However, it wasn't on the clay-court of the Roland Garros but at the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris-Bercy.
Right from the off it was quite clear what kind of match the two will play. Dimitrov struggled to get many balls in and produced just too many unforced errors throughout the match. On the other hand, Zverev did what he needed to do and that was important for him to get the victory.
In the first set, the Bulgarian hit only three winners while making 12 unforced errors and he didn't win a single point after his opponent's first serve. On the other hand, when he served, Dimitrov won only 2 of 11 points after the second serve and all of that contributed to a quick first-set win for the German, 6-1.
For a brief period, the second set was the best that Dimitrov played when he led 4-2, and 40-15 with a total of four break points to go up by two breaks. But Zverev put an end to his comeback thoughts and won 14 consecutive points to steal the second set, winning it 6-4.
The third set proved to be a game of percentages, but once again it wasn't in Dimitrov's favour. He hit only five winners while making 18 unforced errors, but he still had his chances.
In total, the Bulgarian had nine break points, but he used only one. On the other hand, his opponent had only four and converted 50% of his chances, resulting in a quick win for Zverev 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.
The German booked his spot in the 2023 Roland Garros quarterfinals and he can match his last year's result as a very playable opponent lies ahead. Tomas Martin Etcheverry is enjoying the best tournament in his career, but still, he's the only unseeded player in the quarterfinals, so Zverev should be confident to make it to the last four.
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