Grigor Dimitrov admits he feels so at home at the Brisbane International he has to remind himself he is in in tournament mode after advancing to the quarterfinals over Australian wildcard Aleksandar Vukic on Wednesday.
The reigning men’s champion’s 6-2 7-6(5) victory marked his second successive straight-sets ledger and set a showdown with another Australian, eighth seed Jordan Thompson, a 7-5 6-3 winner over American Alex Michelsen.
Fair to say @GrigorDimitrov loves Brisbane and Brisbane loves Grigor!#BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/OyQ8dbUULh
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) January 1, 2025
“It’s such a home atmosphere, honestly. It doesn’t feel like a tournament to me,” Dimitrov said. “That’s why I think the excitement is different. My attitude I think also changes quite a bit. It’s a very special week.”
The 33-year-old’s 25th match win in Brisbane took him to an eighth quarterfinal at the Queensland Tennis Centre from nine straight appearances and improved his record to 50-6 against players ranked outside the top 50.
> READ MORE: Badosa strikes a balance in her return
“Slowly but surely, I’m starting to find my game but I still feel like there’s still quite a bit to brush up, so hopefully with each match I can build up a little bit more and play better and better,” he said.
“I don’t take one day for granted. I’m trying to do my workouts, everything that needs to be done. The discipline is probably the most important thing for me. My main priority is not winning or losing but building the right habit. If I’m able to do that on a daily basis, and of course putting it into matches, you know, I like my chances.
“At the moment I’m just feeling grateful that I’m able to do what I’m able to do and that my body’s feeling good. This is the best news so far.”
From 2-5 down and 0-40 on serve @jordanthommmo2 holds, breaks, holds, breaks and serves out the set!
Sensational. #BrisbaneTennis pic.twitter.com/rrEb7S4aSp
— Brisbane International (@BrisbaneTennis) January 1, 2025
Thompson fights back to stop Michelsen
In the final night match at PRA, eighth seed Thompson overcame a tricky start to thwart 20-year-old Michelsen, who required a medical timeout in just the second game for – of all things – a nose bleed.
Thompson, who beat Rafael Nadal in the Brisbane quarterfinals last year, quickly found himself trailing 5-2 and stared down triple set point on serve before he dug himself out of trouble and pinched the set.
From there, he took the reins and broke twice in the second set, including a tense final game, to set a rematch with the man who defeated him in the semifinals last year, Dimitrov.
“I guess I don’t know what the words ‘give up’ mean. 5-2 0-40 I snuck out the set and actually got a little bit worried there when I had a few match points, and he started coming back,” Thompson said. “Thankfully I got it done in that game.
“It all started on [Pat Rafter Arena] last year. I beat Rafa in a three-hour marathon and it really kickstarted my year and gave me a lot of confidence and belief. Sort of just went from strength to strength in singles and doubles.”