Dimitrov picks up first win in final UTS match
Grigor Dimitrov earns his first win at UTS in his final match, battling past Nicolas Mahut – who was making his UTS debut – in a competitive encounter to kick off Saturday’s schedule.
Grigor Dimitrov, UTS 2020
Despite being mathematically eliminated from semifinal contention, Grigor Dimitrov played for pride and defeated Nicolas Mahut 14-11, 13-15, 15-14, 12-10 at UTS2 on Saturday afternoon.
Thank you for bringing your flair to UTS, @GrigorDimitrov and @nmahut 👌#UTShowdown pic.twitter.com/eR9dw5E6IH
— UTS | Ultimate Tennis Showdown (@UTShowdown) August 1, 2020
Grigor gets off to a fast start
Dimitrov lost to both Richard Gasquet and Feliciano Lopez last weekend after recovering from a difficult bout with the coronavirus. Not much has been going right this summer for the Adria Tour participant, so he did well to produce a positive result in his UTS swansong. Grigor came out strong against The Musketeer, taking an 8-6 lead in the first quarter in part thanks to a couple of serves off the net cord. Mahut used a next point counts two card, but won none of those points. Grigor soon came up with a spectacular backhand pass for 12-6 after playing a next point counts two card of his own. An ace quickly extended the advantage to an insurmountable 14-6.
“I haven’t hit one of those in a while,” the Bulgarian said of his amazing backhand. “That kind of made my day regardless of the result.”
“I didn’t have a good start, but the no-let serve at 7-6 was the key,” Mahut noted. “Then he used the card for a next point counts two.”
The Musketeer responds
The first quarter would prove to be the only one that did not come down to the last point and the last second. A back-and-forth second frame saw Mahut go from an 11-9 deficit to a 13-11 lead with a pair of next point counts two victories. At 13-13, Dimitrov used a take away one serve card – thus basically forcing his opponent to hit second serves. It didn’t matter, though, as The Musketeer won both of those points in the final seconds to prevail 15-13. It ended with a 14-13 point on which Dimitrov netted an easy forehand pass right on top of the net.
“I feel like I got robbed on three calls,” Grigor complained. “Maybe don’t hit the lines,” he joked when asked what he would do differently.
Luck or destiny? ⚔️
The Mousquetaire @nmahut ran away with a tight second quarter, leveling the match to 1-1.#UTShowdown pic.twitter.com/doPk44bieR
— UTS | Ultimate Tennis Showdown (@UTShowdown) August 1, 2020
Another close quarter
Quarter three also came down to the final point. Neither player could gain much of an upper hand en route to a 7-7 deadlock. Out of nowhere, though, Mahut reeled off five straight points for 12-7 before using a coaching timeout to catch a breath. Dimitrov answered with a 5-0 run of his own – doing so in the span of three points thanks to a next point counts two card. With less than 10 seconds remaining, Mahut produced an ace with a next point counts two card to change a 13-12 deficit into a 14-13 advantage. Grigor promptly forced a deciding point at 14-14, after which Mahut sent a backhand return well long to give the Bulgarian the quarter.
“I have to put my return in the court,” the 38-year-old admitted. “It’s all on me. And when I played the next point counts two card, I need to make the volley. Tell me some good advice.”
Victory at last
Drama continued in the fourth. Mahut seized a quick 5-1 lead only to see Dimitrov level things at 5-5, and from there it was back-and-forth the rest of the way. Mahut played his must win the point in three shots card at 6-6, and Dimitrov forgot the rule – thus losing the point in comical fashion. Grigor remembered on the next point, however, coming to net and putting away a volley for a winner on the second shot. That kept him level at 7-7. He drew even again at 9-9 with a brilliant forehand pass, and a successful next point counts double play brought him to 11-9. Mahut gave himself a chance by taking the next point for 10-11 as the clock ticked down, but a double-fault ended the proceedings in unceremonious fashion.
The “win in 3 shots max” card in action 🃏
We still believe in you, @GrigorDimitrov. #UTShowdown | @nmahut pic.twitter.com/j2wMaNLna1
— UTS | Ultimate Tennis Showdown (@UTShowdown) August 1, 2020
“I’ve played Nico so many times”, Dimitrov reflected. “It’s always a pleasure. We’ve known each other forever. It just came down to a few points here and there, as you saw. I like being here. It was a pleasure that I could spend some time on the court. My health right now is the most important thing. Some days I don’t feel good at all and some days I have energy for a certain amount of time.”
