Grigor Dimitrov has thrashed David Goffin to seal his place in the last four at London’s ATP Finals.
The Bulgarian allowed the Belgian just two games in a 73-minute, 6-0 6-2 beatdown to continue his fantastic debut at the O2.
DID YOU SEE? Dimitrov wows with vaunted volley
Semi-finalists in #NittoATPFinals debut (since 2007):
2017 – @GrigorDimitrov
2014 – @keinishikori
2013 – @stanwawrinka
2009 – @RSoderling
2008 – @GillesSimon84
2007 – @DavidFerrer87 (Finalist)— ATP Media Info (@ATPMediaInfo) November 15, 2017
Later on Wednesday, Dominic Thiem at last hung on for a nail-biting victory, outlasting alternate Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 3-6 6-4 to win his first match at this year’s finale.
Thiem will battle Goffin on Friday to snare the other semifinal place from the Pete Sampras round-robin group.
Thiem had lost a succession of close matches post-Wimbledon, blowing match points in losses to Kevin Anderson in Washington DC, Diego Schwartzman in Montreal and Juan Martin del Potro at the US Open.
He also lost tight three-setters to Steve Johnson in Tokyo, Victor Troicki in Shanghai and Peter Gojowczyk in Paris, and had gone 2-6 in his last eight matches prior to his battle with Carreno Busta.
But despite dropping the second set to the Spaniard – spraying 14 unforced errors in the process – Thiem hung on, recovering from 15-30 in the final game to serve out the match.
Thiem's win over Carreño Busta it's his first top 10 win on hardcourts since… the ATP Finals in 2016.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) November 15, 2017
Dimitrov, meanwhile, said things couldn’t have gone much better in his annihilation of Goffin.
“You get a few days in the year when everything you touch turns into gold, I had one of those today,” Dimitrov said.
“But I work for those days. It’s very nice when they come on such an occasion.
“I’m very humbled to win that match. I just wanted to come out and compete today. It’s just a special win for me.”
FEATURES: no rest until Gavrilova hits her best
Dimitrov looked on course to post a rare double-bagel at the ATP Finals; the last was when Roger Federer shut out Gaston Gaudio in 2005.
Dimitrov lead 6-0 3-0 before the Belgian finally got on the board.
On Thursday, Alexander Zverev and Jack Sock – both with 1-1 records this year at the ATP Finals – will battle for a semifinal berth in the Boris Becker Group.
They are aiming to join Federer in the last four, who is already 2-0 and taking on the winless Marin Cilic.
15 September 2016
The greatest champions, goes the old adage, are those who leave their sport better than th... More
9 January 2018
As the first Grand Slam of the season fast approaches, top-10 players are leading the char... More
23 February 2016
Tennis is a funny old game. People love you one minute and then want to drop you the next;... More
7 November 2016
Double Wimbledon champion, double Olympic champion and now world No.1. But what doesn't An... More