Second seed Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the last four in the Rotterdam Open on Friday as he dispatched young Russian Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4 to reach the semi-finals. The Bulgarian duplicated his 2013 semi at the Ahoy Stadium with a win in an hour and a quarter, sending over a dozen aces and saving both break points he faced against his 20-year-old opponent.
Dimitrov edged ahead in the series, 2-1 as he put out the tournament debutant ranked 34th and holding one ATP title from last summer on clay in Umag. Sixth seed Tomas Berdych withdrew prior to his quarter-final, with the Czech’s absence putting fourth seed David Goffin into the semi-finals. Berdych, the 2014 winner, has reportedly been ill for several days and was unable to compete.
In the evening, Roger Federer was playing Robin Haase with a return to number one set for the 36-year-old Swiss if he wins the contest. Federer would become the oldest top-ranked player in ATP history, beating Andre Agassi by three years.
-Inputs from AFP
