Another riveting day at Elm Park saw the headline act depart while the
Irish pair took out the top seeds
By Stephen Higgins
On a riveting day five at Elm Park, Kyrian Jacquet put in a stellar
performance to defeat Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 7-6 (9) before the team of
Conor Gannon and Charlie Barry brought some home cheer as they secured a
semi-final berth in the doubles.
After a slight delay due to spots of rain, the headline match of the day
opened proceedings as Jacquet, the third seed, took on the former world
no.3 Grigor Dimitrov. Unfortunately for the Bulgarian, the assuredness
that he displayed on serve against Gannon was absent from the off here.
The 35-year-old looked flat as he donated his first service game to the
determined Frenchman. Meanwhile Jacquet, who had not dropped a set in
the tournament so far, looked sharp and full of solutions on court.
Jacquet immediately held serve and maintained that advantage through the
set. As the Bulgarian searched for more first serves, his opponent
feasted on the second delivery with Dimitrov only winning 29% of those
points.
Without his serve firing, the former Wimbledon semi-finalist was
vulnerable, particularly off the backhand wing where he almost
exclusively sliced. Jacquet was full of confidence from the baseline,
changed pace well with dropshots, and frequently punished his stranded
opponent with fierce passing shots.
Leading at 5-3*, the world no.145 broke once more after a crafty
chip-and-charge down the line brought an easy volley. He took it and the
set.
Growing in frustration, Dimitrov frequently gazed over at his elite
coaching team of former world no.3 David Nalbandian and Jamie Delgado as
he searched for answers.
Some were found in the second set as the Bulgarian held serve and then
switched the momentum with a break in the fifth game. Unfortunately for
Dimitrov, Jacquet would not wilt and immediately broke back to halt the
push.
The pair then held through the rest of the set, both displaying their
expert feel around the net alongside some heavy blows from the baseline.
With the crowd enraptured, a tie-break was a fitting decider.
Initially, Dimitrov got off to a promising start as he raced to a 4-0
lead with the forehand finally igniting. However, the fearless Frenchman
reeled off a couple of unreturned serves to close the gap.
From 7-7, it was tense as both men traded blows before a match point
arrived for Jacquet at *8-9. A duffed forehand gave Dimitrov a reprieve.
But it was short lived.
At *10-9 on Jacquet’s delivery, a kick serve into the body confused
Dimitrov and his return sank into the net. The week’s star name was out
and Jacquet had earned the most high profile victory of his career.
In the other quarter-final in that half, wildcard Henry Searle continued
his insurgent campaign at Elm Park as he overcame Canada’s Alexis
Galarneau 7-5 3-6 6-1. The Wimbledon Boys’ champion in 2023, Searle did
not drop a set prior to this round as he defeated Elias Ymer and Yu
Hsiou Hsu.
The 20-year-old has never faced Jacquet before but you would have to
give the edge to the Frenchman given his performance against Dimitrov,
and form in Challengers throughout the season.
Onto the second semi-final which will feature the top seed, Titouan
Droguet, and the fourth seed Jurij Rodionov.
Hailing from the fringe of Paris, world no.112 Droguet actually dropped
sets in his early rounds but was much more clinical today. The
24-year-old beat Stefanos Sakellaridis of Greece 6-3 6-3 in their last
eight clash.
Meanwhile Rodionov, who hasn’t dropped a set all week, disposed of the
talented Chinese qualifier Yi Zhou. The Austrian took the match 6-4 6-2
and is into his fourth Challenger semi-final of the season.
Like the other semi-final, these men have never met before. Given their
similar experience and a ranking difference of less than fifty places,
this could be a three-setter.
Finally, to add to the memorable performances from Conor Gannon and
Ammar Elamin this week, there was some doubles delight for the home
crowd.
In the last eight, Gannon recovered from his loss to Dimitrov to help
Charlie Barry to a great 1-6 6-3 11-9 comeback victory over the top seed
pairing of Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli and Trey Hilderbrand.
Given the confidence and doubles capabilities of the Irishmen, the Davis
Cup duo will relish the opportunity to make a Challenger final in
Dublin. Standing in their way will be the Dutch combination of Jarno
Jans and Niels Visker. Jans and Visker will be a stern test having
already won a Challenger and ITF title together this year.
Tomorrow’s schedule starts with Jacquet v Searle, followed by Droguet
against Rodionov. Gannon and Barry will be the third act on the main
showcourt.
The weather forecast looks patchy on Friday but hopefully the matches
will get played and there might be some more Irish joy.
