MIAMI – Grigor Dimitrov is set to climb back into the top 10 for the first time since 2018 after beating Alexander Zverev on March 29 to seal a spot in the Miami Open final against Jannik Sinner, with the Bulgarian saying he is finally reaping the rewards of his hard work.

Dimitrov had been touted as a potential winner of the biggest prizes in tennis since becoming Wimbledon junior champion in 2008 with a style likened to that of Roger Federer, but the 32-year-old has yet to live up to his early promise.

However, he has been in fine form in recent weeks, defeating top-10 players Carlos Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz at the Miami Open, before claiming a 6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-4 win over fifth-ranked Zverev in the semi-final.

“I think the consistency of beating top players, that to me is a bigger success than anything else,” Dimitrov said after his win.

“If you do that, you get the ranking. If you do that, things are just getting better for you... I think the discipline brought me to this moment. There is nothing else. I didn’t kind of deviate from my target.

“I had small targets throughout – every single week I had a target, and also to be able to put my body through all that on a daily basis was also very important for me. When you start putting all that together, I think it’s what I’m most proud of.”

Dimitrov, who faces world No. 3 Sinner in the final on March 31, said he is hoping to employ his diverse array of skills to the best of his ability.

“I know I have a lot of tools in my bag that I can use, but also I need to make sure that I use them at the right time,” Dimitrov said.

“I think today, for example, I was able to, especially in the third set, use those ones, you know, the finesse, use the slice a little bit more, be a little bit more aggressive with my forehand, serve and volley, coming in.”

Dimitrov, the 11th seed, utilised his forehand to devastating effect throughout against the 26-year-old Zverev, making just three unforced errors to take the first set.

The fourth-seeded German, however, regained some control in a tight second set, serving with accuracy to deny Dimitrov any opportunity to break before clinching the tiebreak to level the match.

Dimitrov took his tally of winners up to 44 in the decider as he defended a break point, then took the lead at 4-3 before confidently settling the match on serve for his first win over Zverev since 2014.

“It was like a dogfight on both ends, we really went after each other,” said Dimitrov.

“He upped his game in the second set. In the third set, he also had a chance but I served well.”

In the other semi-final, Sinner destroyed reigning champion Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-2 in just 69 minutes.

The Italian will be the favourite against Dimitrov, after his display of power and skill at Hard Rock Stadium swept away Medvedev.

The 22-year-old had lost to the Russian in the Miami final in 2023 but rallied from two sets down to beat him in the Australian Open final in January.

The outcome was never in doubt this time, as Sinner utterly dominated from the outset.

“I felt great on court today. Usually, the more you go on in a tournament, the more comfortable you feel and I’m very happy about today’s performance,” he said.

“I think Daniil didn’t feel this well today. He made a lot of mistakes, which he usually doesn’t make, so I just took the chance. I was expecting a really tough match.”

Sinner has won five straight matches against Medvedev after having lost their first six encounters.

The 22-year-old, who enjoyed a run of 19 wins before losing to Alcaraz in the semi-final at Indian Wells, said he is now a very different proposition than when he missed out in the Miami final in 2023.

“I’m a different player, a different person,” he said.

Medvedev, 28, was blunt in his assessment of his performance.

“He played good. I didn’t play well enough. We could speak for hours but, in the end, I didn’t play good enough,” he said.

“He played good, he won easy. That’s the end of the story, to be honest.” REUTERS, AFP