Paris Masters | Grigor Dimitrov advances to the final by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas

(Paris) Six years later, Grigor Dimitrov is back in the final of a Masters 1000 tournament.

The Bulgarian overcame strong resistance from Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas to snatch a three-set victory of 6-3, 6-7 (1), 7-6 (3) in the semi-final of the Paris Tennis Masters on Saturday afternoon.

Dimitrov was efficient on serve, racked up 38 winners and was impeccable at the net.

Dimitrov took advantage of Tsitsipas’ poor start to the match to win the first set. He then saw his rival save two break points when the score was 4-4 in the second set and begin a comeback.

During the decisive break of the second set, Dimitrov made several blunders and Tsitsipas forced a third set while gesturing towards the audience to ask for their support.

However, Tsitsipas was unable to convert any of his four break chances in the third game of the final set.

Dimitrov then raised the level of his game during the tiebreaker, hitting three superb passing shots, the last of which allowed him to secure his victory.

Dimitrov is looking for his first title on the tour since 2017, when he won the ATP Finals. A few months earlier, he had taken part in his only other final at a Masters 1000 tournament, in Cincinnati.

On Sunday, in the final, he will face the winner of the duel between the Serbian Novak Djokovic, world number one, and the Russian Andrey Rublev.