Joy for Janowicz, anguish for Dimitrov

Jerzy Janowicz arrived in Stuttgart on a four-match losing streak and ranked outside the world’s top 150.

Yet on Thursday, the Polish powerhouse turned back the clock to storm into the quarterfinals of the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.

His progression to the last eight came via a 7-6(4) 6-3 win over second seed and world No.12 Grigor Dimitrov, who after a sparkling start to 2017 has tapered off as the season has progressed.

Jerzy Janowicz's biggest win (by ranking) since…

…beating then No.8-ranked Dimitrov at Cincinnati 2014 ????pic.twitter.com/ArMNmldFCo

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 15, 2017

Janowicz was a Wimbledon semifinalist in 2013 and peaked at world No.14 in August of that year.

Yet after struggling with a knee and lower back injury that prevented him from competing for much of the first half of 2016, the road back has been long and progression slow.

Having won just one ATP main-draw match this year, he hadn’t beaten a player ranked as high Dimitrov since Cincinnati 2014; at that tournament he also beat Dimitrov, who back then was ranked No.8.

Since then he has scored a handful of victories over top-20 ranked players, but none ranked as high as 12th.

Dimitrov, meanwhile, has won just five of his past 13 matches in a form slump contrasting sharply with his 16-2 start to the season, a run that saw him win titles in Brisbane and Sofia and reach the semifinals at the Australian Open.

In his first ATP quarterfinal since Halle in 2015, Janowicz will take on Benoit Paire, who beat German qualifier Peter Gojowczyk 6-2 6-4.

Other winners on Thursday included perennial grasscourt Feliciano Lopez – the Spaniard upended Jeremy Chardy in three sets – and No.3 seed Tomas Berdych, who subdued Australia’s Bernard Tomic in straight sets.

“It was good, it was a very good match,” Berdych said.

“He plays a very different style. We played already four times before, all of them were battles but today was probably the easiest. I was ready, I was prepared and I think that’s why I deserve the win.

“He’s a very different player, very talented and very good touch in the hand but I found my weapons and I played better.”