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It’s the third round at The Championships and the Men’s competition is starting to get serious as Grigor Dimitrov takes on the Frenchman Richard Gasquet in what promises to be an enthralling encounter at the All England Club. Join us on The Roar from 10:00pm for live scores.
Dimitrov comes into this match as the favourite as the 11th seed and has looked convincing in his opening two appearances. In the opening round he took care of Federico Delbonis relatively comfortably before grinding out a gutsy win against Steve Johnson in the Round of 64.
Gasquet has been looking just as impressive so far at Wimbledon; he tore apart Luke Saville before putting on another master class against Kenny de Schepper, to set up this intriguing clash against Dimitrov.
Surprisingly, Gasquet has dominated their head-to-head record winning all four times the two have played. However, their most recent match was at the Rome Masters in 2012 and the two have never versed each other on grass. Despite this, Gasquet has arguably played the better tennis of the two players this year.
His title victory in Estoril was convincing as he tore apart Nicolás Almagro, Guillermo García-López and Nick Kyrgios on route to victory. Likewise was his performance in Montpellier, winning the title with victories over Istomin and Monfils. Since then he has made the Round of 16 at the French Open and the quarter finals at Queens, suggesting the Frenchman will be a challenging proposition for his Bulgarian opponent.
Dimitrov’s year has been disappointing by his lofty standards, and considering the high expectations of the tennis public after his exceptional 2014. With no titles or finals appearances so far in 2015, Dimitrov has been under pressure coming into the tournament, especially after his loss to Gilles Muller in the Round of 16 at Queens in straight sets.
Tactics:
For Dimitrov: For Grigor to win this game he must serve at a higher first serve percentage than he has currently been playing at.
Gasquet is a quality returner of the ball who can use both his top-spinning forehand or ripping one-handed backhand to tear opponents to shreds.
On the other hand however, Gasquet’s second serve lacks quality, pace and precision. Grigor must look to step in and take the ball early to give himself the first real strike in the points. If he can do this, he can challenge Gasquet with both the precision and pace of his shots.
For Gasquet: Just as key for Grigor, Richard will need a high first serve percentage as his second serve struggles against the world’s best. Critical for Richard is the way in which he uses his backhand side.
As previously suggested, his one handed backhand is an abosolute bullet and one of the best in men’s tennis. However, Gasquet also possesses a very good slice on his backhand side, which can change the pace of the game in an instant. This gives him time to get himself back into the points and dictate the rally once more.
His changes of pace will therefore be crucial against Dimitrov, as the Bulgarian loves to feel comfortable on the baseline, working his opponent over through the precision and accuracy of his shots.
We are all set for a cracking third round match between Richard Gasquet and Grigor Dimitrov. Will the Bulgarian advance or will the Frenchman continue his stellar form in 2015?
Join us on The Roar from 10:00pm for live scores.
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