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Grigor Dimitrov vs Alexei Popyrin: ATP Montreal – Round of 16
Grigor Dimitrov and Alexei Popyrin will face each other in the round of 16 at ATP Montreal.
Grigor Dimitrov Profile
Grigor Dimitrov is tenth in the ATP rankings and his career high was No. 3 in the world. The Bulgarian is 33-11 for the season and 15-3 on hard.
Dimitrov is coming off a 6-1, 6-0 win over Rinky Hijikata in the second round of the tournament.
That was his first match after retiring in the round of 16 at Wimbledon in the match against Daniil Medvedev.
Dimitrov won his first title since 2017 lifting the trophy in Brisbane in the first week of the season. He also reached the finals in Marseille and Miami.
This is his sixth appearance in Montreal and he has matched his best result from 2017.
Alexei Popyrin Profile
Alexei Popyrin is 62nd in the rankings, and his career high was No. 38 in the world. The Australian is 19-16 for the season and 9-4 on hard surface.
Popyrin is coming off a 6-4, 7-6 win over Ben Shelton in the second round after beating Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-4 in the opener.
Popyrin made it to the round of 16 at the Olympics, where he lost to Alexander Zverev. His best result of the season was the semifinal in Doha, where he lost to Karen Khachanov.
This is the first time for Popyrin to make it to the main draw in Montreal.
Head-to-Head Tied 1-1
- Popyrin vs Dimitrov 7-6, 7-6, 4-0, ret. (2021 US Open, second round)
- Dimitrov vs Popyrin 6-4, 6-7, 6-3 (2021 Murray River Open, round of 16)
Prediction and Conclusion
Both players are in solid form, and this tournament may set the tone for the rest of the month before the US Open. Dimitrov is back in the top 10 for the first time in years, and he does not plan to stop here. He took some time off after getting hurt at Wimbledon, but he seems like he is back at full speed. Popyrin can be a problem for any player on the tour since he has a good serve and moves well on the court. Like their previous matches, this will be another tough battle that will last over 22.5 games in total.
