Grigor Dimitrov Back on Track in Australian Open With Win Over Andrey Rublev

The Bulgarian delivered in a testing 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Russian rising star Andrey Rublev on Rod Laver Arena as temperatures touched 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

New Delhi: World number three Grigor Dimitrov got his Australian Open campaign back on track today with a gutsy win. The third seed had plenty to prove after a huge second- round fright from a qualifier, who pushed him to five sets. And the Bulgarian delivered in a testing 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over Russian rising star Andrey Rublev on Rod Laver Arena as temperatures touched 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).

“These are the most important matches for me, when things are not working for me and I find a way,” he said. “I’m feeling good physically, the heat didn’t scare me at all today, so that’s a good sign.” He will next face the winner of an intriguing night match which pits Australian Nick Kyrgios against French veteran Jo- Wilfried Tsonga.

Fourth-seeded woman Elina Svitolina also kept her title dreams alive by ending the hopes of young teenage pretender Marta Kostyuk.

At just 15, Kostyuk was the youngest Melbourne Park third-round contestant since Martina Hingis in 1996, and was hailed after her previous win as “the future of tennis”.

But she still has a lot to learn with fellow Ukrainian Svitolina handing out a 6-2, 6-2 lesson. “She’s definitely got a bright future,” said Svitolina, adding: “It’s very special for me to get past the third round.”
She next plays another qualifier — big-serving Czech Denisa Allertova who romped past Magda Linette 6-1, 6-4 — for a place in the quarter-finals on Sunday.

In a tournament shorn of seeds, 81st ranked Petra Martic also swept into the round of 16, celebrating her 27th birthday by holding off a gritty three-set challenge from Thai qualifier Luksika Kumkhum.

Her reward is a match against Belgium’s Elise Mertens, who beat struggling Alize Cornet of France in two tough sets.

Cornet was among players wilting in the heat, with a doctor taking her blood pressure early in the second set as she succumbed to the baking weather.

(With PTI inputs)