Stefanos Tsitsipas edges out Grigor Dimitrov at Italian Open in Rome after see-saw three-setter

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas survived a scare to make it through to the last 16 of the Italian Open after an engrossing three-set win over Grigor Dimitrov. Going into the match, Tsitsipas held the wood over Dimitrov having defeated the Bulgarian in the last month in both Barcelona and Madrid.

Ad/> Those matches were more straightforward than this encounter at the Foro Italico though, with Dimitrov seeing two match points go astray at 5-4 up in the third. Roland-GarrosBest in the world, but is Alcaraz favourite for the French Open?09/05/2022 AT 10:33 And as the pair went into their final-set tie-break, Tsitsipas once again came up with the goods when he needed to and booked his place in the last 16, where he will meet Karen Khachanov.

«It's like playing in the Colosseum,» Tsitsipas said afterwards. «There's so much energy coming from the crowd.

The people that came and watched the match were so into it, more than us I think. Nadal breezes past Isner to set up 'dangerous' Shapovalov rematch Returning Swiatek crushes Ruse for loss of just three games Andreescu’s advice for Raducanu and the rise of Baez – Italian Open Tour Diary »And it gave for a great atmosphere and a great gladiator environment on the court." Dimitrov has been resurgent this season with a run to the quarter-finals in Indian Wells and a semi-final appearance in Monte-Carlo.

But he had struggled to find a way to overcome Tsitsipas this term, and the Greek appeared keen to keep his spotless 2022 head-to-head record against Dimitrov intact early on, racing into a 3-0 lead that ultimately set the tone for the first set, Tsitsipas taking it 6-3. Tsitsipas — having broken in the seventh game of the second set — then looked like he was going to sprint to a