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After the quarter-finals of the Beijing tournament, Grigor Dimitrov reached the round of 16 of the ATP Masters 1000 in Shanghai. In the third round, the former world number three beat Karen Khachanov with the result of 7-6, 6-4 and will now challenge Carlos Alcaraz.
The Bulgarian, in an interview granted to ATP after the success in two sets, analyzed the match, explaining: "I think the first set was very balanced on both sides. I thought I was ahead at the start and during the match. I thought I was super controlling, but somehow he was coming back.
Great serves, great moves, great shots, but I had to stay focused and that was the most important thing. When I had the opportunity to be more aggressive, I had to do it."
Grigor Dimitrov shares massive words on Carlos Alcaraz's Era
In the round of 16, Grigor will face the two-time Grand Slam champion and former world number one Carlos Alcaraz.
It will be the third time they face each other in 2023, the first on hard courts after the previous ones in the season on grass at Queen's and clay, at the Madrid Masters.
Immediately after the victory against Vukic on his debut, Grigor Dimitrov spoke in a press conference about the effects of having played in the two eras of contemporary tennis: that of the Big 3 and that of Carlos Alcaraz.
Him placing himself in a privileged position: "Lately, I've had a lot of those conversations, actually with some of the 25, 26 year old guys, they've asked me a lot of different questions to get my opinion on things. It's very interesting for me, especially when I'm completely out of the game, I think it'll be very interesting for me to look back.
For me it's very interesting to see in a way three eras of tennis and also players from much earlier facing each other towards the end of their careers. So I'm very, I think, uniquely positioned and very fortunately positioned to be able to compete with each of them."