Grigor Dimitrov battles past Andrey Rublev at US Open to reach double career milestone

Grigor Dimitrov has battled past Andrey Rublev in the fourth round of the US Open, 6-3, 7-6 (3), 1-6, 3-6, 6-3, to not only reach his second US Open quarterfinal (and eighth overall Grand Slam quarterfinal), but also to reach a pair of major career milestones.

First of all, it was the 450th win of his career.

He was the first man born in 1990 or later to reach that number, and later in the day Alexander Zverev became the second to do it following his fourth-round victory over Brandon Nakashima.

MOST CAREER WINS FOR MEN BORN IN 1990 OR LATER (tour-level):
450: Grigor Dimitrov [born in 1991]
450: Alexander Zverev [born in 1997]
383: Milos Raonic [born in 1990]
371: Daniil Medvedev [born in 1996]
348: Dominic Thiem [born in 1993]

Secondly, it was the 300th hard-court win of his career. He’s the first man born in 1990 or later to hit that number, and no one else can join him on that list during this year's US Open.

MOST HARD-COURT WINS FOR MEN BORN IN 1990 OR LATER (tour-level):
300: Grigor Dimitrov [born in 1991]
286: Daniil Medvedev [born in 1996]
264: Milos Raonic [born in 1990]
259: Alexander Zverev [born in 1997]
232: Andrey Rublev [born in 1997]

After battling back from 5-3 down to take the second set and a two-set lead, Dimitrov watched on as Rublev caught fire, steamrolling through the next two sets—but a break in the fourth game of the fifth set was all he needed, eventually serving it out after three hours and 39 minutes on court.

“Yeah, tricky match. That’s the least I can say,” Dimitrov told reporters afterwards. “You know, you live through everything—I mean, I live through everything in this match. I think it was a very challenging match for me on so many different levels.

“When I look from my physicality to the way that I felt after the first couple of sets, I mean, anything could have happened. The steal of the second set really helped me to keep on believing and to keep on trusting in my game and in my body.

“I think after the first couple of sets he started playing amazing. I mean, there’s not much else I could have done, so I had to pull the reins back a little bit and wait for an opportunity. I knew eventually I might get one throughout the fourth and fifth. It happened in the fifth. I think that was the big difference today. After that I run with the match, but it was very challenging.

“We both knew what’s going to happen in a way on a few big points. In a way it could have also gone either way. But I was just very happy how I stuck with my game and really also stepped up my game where I really needed it the most.”

Awaiting the Bulgarian in the quarterfinals will be American Frances Tiafoe, who ended the run of Alexei Popyrin in the night match, 6-4, 7-6 (3), 2-6, 6-3.