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Grigor Dimitrov progressed to the third round of the 2023 US Open on Friday, September 1. He defeated Andy Murray in straight sets in the second round.
The battle between the two veterans began with them engaging each other in some long and hard-fought rallies, with the score reading 3-3 after almost an hour. However, Dimitrov elevated his game at that point and forced his opponent to the back of the court, making the contest more physically challenging for Murray.
The Scot lost his rhythm and started to make a few unforced errors, including seven double faults. Aided by seven breaks of serve, Dimitrov managed to close out the match in his favor 6-3, 6-4, 6-1.
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Dimitrov's girlfriend Madalina Ghenea took to Instagram to congratulate the former World No. 3 on his win. The Romanian actress posted a couple of pictures along with the caption:
"Happy Kids! Proud of you!"
The couple began dating earlier this year, and Ghenea was even spotted in Dimitrov's player's box at the Madrid Open. They were most recently captured vacationing together in Italy.
Grigor Dimitrov to take on Alexander Zverev in R3 of US Open
Grigor Dimitrov will face Alexander Zverev in the third round of the US Open on Saturday, September 2.
In an on-court interview after his triumph over Andy Murray, when asked if he saw himself repeating his 2019 semifinal run, the 32-year-old kept up his competitive spirit and said:
"Well, one match at a time [smiles]. But now we are in the third round, so hopefully, we can on buiding on that and as I said, I have great memories of 2019. I would love to repeat that and why not go further?"
12th seed Alexander Zverev, on his part, defeated Aleksandar Vukic 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. He next took on Daniel Altmaier where he dropped a set (7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3) before sealing his spot in the third round.
The German will go into the match against Dimitrov with hopes of recreating his dream run in 2020, when he reached the final of the US Open and lost to Dominic Thiem.
Zverev leads 5-1 in the head-to-head against Dimitrov.
