The first all-Top 10 meeting of the 2024 US Open has been set.
Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev wasted little time securing third-round victories at the hard-court major on Friday afternoon, when the ninth-seeded Dimitrov defeated Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 and sixth seed Rublev overcame Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. The pair will now face off in the fourth round in New York, their first Grand Slam meeting since the 2018 Australian Open.
Dimitrov did not face a break point in his 99-minute win against Griekspoor. The 33-year-old, a US Open semi-finalist in 2019, has not dropped a set across his three matches so far at Flushing Meadows. He will hope to replicate his good form to avenge his straight-sets defeat in his only previous US Open meeting with Rublev in 2017.
Say hello to the last 16, Grigor ☎️@GrigorDimitrov will face Rublev for a place in the quarter-finals in New York after he defeated Griekspoor in straight sets! @usopen | #USOpen pic.twitter.com/4ay0ao7cB8
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 30, 2024After engineering a stunning comeback from two sets down in his second-round match against Arthur Rinderknech, Rublev reverted to doing things the easy way to seal his fourth-round spot. The No. 6 in the PIF ATP Rankings won 89 per cent (48/54) of points behind his first serve to move into a 3-2 lead in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Lehecka.
Rublev is a four-time quarter-finalist at the US Open. Victory in Sunday’s fourth-round match would consolidate his standing in sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, but Dimitrov will also be looking to make his move in the battle to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. The Bulgarian is currently 11th in the Live Race, but could rise as high as ninth by reaching the quarter-finals.
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