By Stephen Higgins
Conor Gannon will hope that lightning can strike twice at Elm Park as
the Irish no.3 faces another elite assignment on day four of the Dublin
Challenger.
On Tuesday, the Dubliner fought through a tense three-hour battle with
the former top 20 player Bernard Tomic. After dropping the first set,
the Irishman recovered to claim the biggest win of his life with a 6-7
6-4 7-6 scoreline.
Gannon’s reward is the opportunity to take on the week’s star attraction
in the round of 16 – Grigor Dimitrov.
Dimitrov, the former world no.3 and 2017 ATP Finals winner, dispatched
world no.179 Chris Rodesch in just over an hour on Tuesday. Despite a
low first serve percentage (49%), the Bulgarian secured a break in each
set to claim his opener 6-3 6-4.
A regular fixture at grand slams for well over a decade, it’s odd to see
a player of Dimitrov’s calibre at a Challenger event. But circumstance
and the specialised nature of grass court tennis have sprinkled the
Donnybrook event with extra glitter.
The 35-year-old is in Dublin trying to rebuild his ranking, and form,
after a pectoral injury derailed his 2025 campaign.
Twelve months ago, the Bulgarian was two sets up over the world no.1
Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon before the injury struck and he was forced to
retire. He only managed one more appearance during the season at the
Paris Masters, but was forced to withdraw there with a shoulder problem.
2026 has continued to be a struggle for the nine-time ATP titlist who’s
ranked at no.169 this week. He’s currently 3-8 for the season with his
victory on Tuesday breaking a run of six first round exits. Dimitrov’s
mood may be lifted however by the award of a wildcard for SW19 later
this month.
Meanwhile, Gannon’s upset of Tomic has come after a busy run of
tournaments for the 24-year-old. He has already had thirteen outings on
the ITF tour this year excluding Davis Cup commitments.
While often used in a doubles capacity for Ireland, the three singles
points he earned during the recent Group III ties with Montenegro,
Azerbaijan and Kosovo will be a boon to his confidence.
The Irish no.3 is very comfortable on grass and fans will have witnessed
his fine slice and general sharpness around the net against Tomic.
Unfortunately for the Irishman, he now faces a man renowned for his
skill on the turf at the very highest level.
The Queen’s champion in 2014 and also a semi-finalist at Wimbledon that
year, Dimitrov has continued to be an elite threat at the All England
Club. He has made three consecutive runs to the fourth round in recent
years.
With nine career titles, previous victories over Novak Djokovic, Rafael
Nadal and Roger Federer, and almost $32 million in prize money – this is
very much a case of Grigor the Goliath versus an Irish David.
But as we have seen with the upsets by Ammar Elamin in qualifying, and
Gannon in the main draw, there’s always a chance when the ball is in
play.
We all know that the Bulgarian’s highest level is significantly beyond a
Challenger event, but that hasn’t been the case recently. Gannon and his
Irish fandom will hope that they can delay Dimitrov’s return to the top
just one week longer.
