"Why I’ll never take Grigor Dimitrov Slam contender hype seriously" - Bulgarian's shock defeat to Nuno Borges in Australian Open 3R disappoints fans
Tennis fans couldn't contain their disappointment at Grigor Dimitrov's shock defeat to Nuno Borges in the fourth round of the 2024 Australian Open.
Dimitrov arrived at the Australian Open in excellent form, having recently snapped his six-year title drought at the Brisbane International. The Bulgarian delivered a commanding performance in his tournament opener in Melbourne, defeating Marton Fucsovics 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-2. He similarly triumphed over Thanasi Kokkinakis, securing a 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 victory.
The World No. 13 took on Nuno Borges for a place in the fourth round of the Major. Despite his recent dominance, Dimitrov struggled during the match, allowing Borges to pull off a stunning upset. He defeated the Bulgarian 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(6) in three hours and five minutes.
Tennis fans were let down by Grigor Dimitrov's defeat, with one fan sharing that losses of this nature have caused them to not consider the Bulgarian a genuine contender for a Grand Slam title.
"This is why I’ll never take Dimitrov Slam contender hype seriously. No matter how good he looks coming in he will ALWAYS find a way to lose like this lol," the fan commented.
Other fans poked fun at the World No. 13's tendency to lose matches he was expected to win.
"With Dimitrovs form recently i thought we were past peak dimitrov....but then dimitrov reminded us that he is still....dimitrov," a fan posted.
"Grigor Dimitrov can play great tennis, win titles, get people talking about big possibilities for him again, but in the end, you can always trust him to remember that he is still Grigor Dimitrov," another fan wrote.
Here are a few more reactions from fans:
Nuno Borges after defeating Grigor Dimitrov: "I didn’t expect to be here, second week of the Australian Open, who would have thought?"
Nuno Borges turned emotional after pulling off the win over Grigor Dimitrov, collapsing to the ground in disbelief. Even after having time to absorb the victory, he admitted that he still couldn't fathom it, revealing that he never expected to reach the second week of the 2024 Australian Open.
"I still can’t believe it. What a match. I didn’t expect to be here, [in] second week of the Australian Open. Who would have thought?" he said in his on-court interview.
Borges also shared an insight into his mindset during the clash, disclosing that he approached it one step at a time and that his confidence grew as the match progressed.
"Holy crap, maybe I can actually win this. Yeah, it wasn’t from the start. It’s like people say. Take one set at a time, one game at a time, one service game. Kept pushing through, testing my limits, testing his. I know in a tennis match anything can happen and I think today was a true example of that," he said.
Following his win over Grigor Dimitrov, Nuno Borges will square off against Daniil Medvedev for a place in the quarterfinals of the Australian Open.