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Grigor Dimitrov will need to put his career-best form to good use when he takes on dangerous Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the third round of the Australian Open. Join The Roar for live scores from around 8:30pm (AEDT).
Dimitrov kicked off his season in stunning fashion, taking out his first ATP tournament at 25 years of age, upstaging world No.5 Kei Nishikori in a tough final.
Before that he had got the better of both Dominic Thiem and Milos Raonic, meaning he had recorded three straight victories over top-ten players coming into the first grand slam of the year.
He was drawn Aussie wildcard Christopher O’Connell, and put him away in straight sets, before going on to face Hyeon Chung, coming back from a 6-1 thumping in the first set to take the match in four.
Dimitrov’s form is splendid though and his timing of the ball has been consistent, making him a very hard man to compete with.
The French veteran came into the tournament as 18th seed has had an easy time of things, cracking plenty of winners on his way to two straight-sets victories.
After beginning 2017 in Perth at the Hopman Cup, getting big wins over Daniel Evans, Alexander Zverev and Jack Sock – his only loss coming at the hands of Roger Federer – he looked to be in good touch.
He made no mistake in the first round, dismantling another Australian wildcard in Blake Mott, taking it 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 before he was even more dominant against the inexperienced Carlos Berlocq, only dropping three games.
This pair have a history that stretches back over five years, with their six meetings going in the favour of Gasquet, who holds a five-one advantage.
Their last meeting though, only their second on the hard court and at the back end of 2016 in Shanghai, saw Dimitrov take a straight-sets victory, so he will be feeling confident.
The winner of this match will take on either Pablo Carreno Busta or giant killer Denis Istomin in the fourth round.
Prediction
Gasquet is a competitor to the core, but Dimitrov’s pure hitting should allow him to take a victory – this is going to be an epic encounter though.
Dimitrov in five sets.
Be sure to join The Roar for live scores of this match from around 8:30pm (AEDT) or at the completion of Daria Gavrilova vs Timea Bascinszky on Rod Laver Arena, and don’t forget to add your own comments throughout the match.
Follow Scott on Twitter @sk_pryde