Miami Open 2024: Jannik Sinner lifts the trophy at hard-court event
With this victory, the Italian tennis player became the highest-ranked Italian tennis player and achieved his career-best ATP singles Ranking of No. 2.
Roger Federer turned on the style as the legendary Swiss beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in a straightforward fourth-round Wimbledon tie on Monday, setting up a quarter-final with Milos Raonic in the process.
Billed as the clash to watch on ‘Manic Monday’, the proceedings were highly anti-climatic as Dimitrov never truly looked like he would be able to overturn his 0-5 head-to-head record against the iconic 35-year-old.
Federer, seeking an unprecedented 8th Wimbledon title, looked to be in a hurry against an opponent eight years his junior and while initially it was even-steven, once the Swiss broke in the 9th game, he was odds-on to continue his winning streak against the Bulgarian.
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Clinching the opener with a blistering ace, Federer tightened the screws in the second set early on, breaking Dimitrov to get a two-set lead.
After Dimitirov was broken early on again in the third set, the match looked over but the 2016 semi-finalist finally broke Federer for the first time in the match to spark hopes of a comeback.
Alas, any such aspirations were extinguished as Federer won the next two games to clinch the final set 6-4, finishing the tie in a little over a hour-and-a-half.
The third seed is yet to drop a set and his opponent in the quarter-finals is going to be Milos Raonic, who bested rising star Alexander Zverev in a gruelling five-setter on Monday.
While Federer enjoys a superior record against the big-serving Canadian, the fact that Raonic has bested him in their past two meetings, including, notably the 2016 Wimbledon semi-finals, makes the clash an even more intriguing one.
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