Alex de Minaur has finally gotten his revenge against Andrey Rublev. The Australian tennis star, whose road was blocked by Rublev in the opening Majors this year, finally defeated the Russian star at the Rotterdam Open 2024. Rublev has lost yet again in the quarter-final of a tournament, with that level being his ‘Achilles Heel’ of sorts. Grigor Dimitrov, on the other hand, defeated Alexander Shevchenko 7-6 (7-2), 3-6, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Now, it’s time for Alex de Minaur vs Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals of the Rotterdam Open 2024.
This brings to mind their first-ever clash at the fourth round of the 2019 US Open. Grigor Dimitrov won that match 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. However, it was the 21-shot rally that took all the attention.
The first set was at 5-5 when the never-ending rally took place. Dimitrov eventually won the epic rally and won the set. Dimitrov then went on to defeat Swiss GOAT Roger Federer in the quarter-final in one of his finest wins. It was an epic 5-set rally that went Dimitrov’s way in the end. The score was 3-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Dimitrov lost in the semi-final against Daniil Medvedev.
But that Round of 16 match was the beginning of an enduring rivalry between De Minaur and Dimitrov. They are both very proficient on hard courts. Of the 7 ATP titles de Minaur won in his career, 6 of them came on hard courts. Dimitrov also won the ATP Finals in London and the Cincinnati Masters among others, on hard courts.
Grigor Dimitrov and Alex de Minaur have faced each other 5 times before. In their last encounter at the Barcelona Open Blanc Sabadell, de Minaur got a walkover without playing the match. Besides that, the head-to-head is 2-2.
After Dimitrov’s win at the US Open, de Minaur won the next two times at the 2020 European Open in Antwerp and the 2022 National Bank Open in Montreal. The scores were 7-6 (7-4), 6-7 (3-7), 6-4 and 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 respectively in those tournaments. But the fourth time they met was at last year’s Rotterdam Open.
This time Dimitrov ended de Minaur’s run in the quarter-final by 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6). Once again like he did against Andrey Rublev, Alex de Minaur finds himself in an opportune position to take revenge.
This year, the Grigor Dimitrov vs Alex de Minaur contest will be a rematch of sorts after Dimitrov’s win last year. Both the players have improved a lot since then. Dimitrov went on to win the Brisbane International and de Minaur broke into the Top 10 rankings for the first time in his career in January this year. The Australian player also defeated World No.1 Novak Djokovic for the first time and followed it with a win against world no. 7 Alexander Zverev.
Who will win this time between Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov?
With their 2-2 head-to-head record and both players in stellar form, it is genuinely difficult to predict a winner in today’s 3 pm game. However, The SportsRush predicts Alex de Minaur to win the match, owing to his slightly better form, his experience in beating top-ranked players, and also his penchant for taking revenge. As per the Pokerstars website, the odds for Alex de Minaur and Grigor Dimitrov are at 1.60 for the Australian vis-a-vis 2.20 for the Bulgarian.
The match will stream live online on Tennis TV. For the US audience, they can watch it on Tennis Channel and the UK audience can watch it on Sky Sports. The weather in Rotterdam remains chilly at 13 degrees Celsius. The wind speed is 16 km/h, humidity is 80%, and only a slight chance of rainfall at 10% precipitation.
