What Grigor Dimitrov did after his latest win at the Miami Open which Martina Navratilova has never seen another player do before

Follow us on Google Discover

Grigor Dimitrov reached the Miami Open semi-finals for the second successive year, but it may have come at a cost.

The Bulgarian took Frederico Cerundolo for a spot in the last four at the Masters 1000 event in very humid conditions on Wednesday evening.

The pair engaged in an entertaining three-set battle which at one point looked to be going the way of the Argentine.

But Grigor Dimitrov showed his class to battle back from a 0-3 deficit in the final set to claim what once looked like an unlikely victory.

Grigor Dimitrov did something that Martina Navratilova had ‘never seen before’ at the Miami Open

Dimitrov came back from the brink to reach his second consecutive Miami Open semi-final.

The 33-year-old was facing a 0-3 deficit in set three and he also saved match point while trailing 5-6, before sealing a 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) win.

The gripping two-hour and 48 minute contest took place in humid conditions which Dimitrov struggled with and early in the final set, he looked physically exhausted.

At times he looked to be struggling to breathe and was possibly cramping, and there were concerns over if he would even finish the match.

But Dimitrov dug deep to produce an incredible comeback, and he was assessed by the medical team after the match before he was helped off the court.

Martina Navratilova was left stunned by what she saw from Dimitrov, and told Sky Sports: “He was running on fumes at the end of the second set. What an amazing effort from Grigor.

“He was down and just kept coming back. Cerundolo looked much less tired and I would have backed him to win, but Grigor did it.

“I’ve never seen a player collapse after the match they have won. The fact that he was still able to win when he was feeling this lousing was an amazing emotional and physical effort.”

Martina Navratilova explains what Grigor Dimitrov should do before his Miami Open semi-final

Dimitrov will be grateful for a day off to recover before Friday’s semi-final.

The World number 15 will face either Novak Djokovic or Sebastian Korda. The two have yet to play their quarter-final after it was postponed to Thursday.

They stand between Dimitrov and a place in the Miami Open final once again, and Navratilova has explained what he needs to give himself the best chance of playing well against Djokovic or Korda.

“At least he has got a day off to hopefully recover. He probably won’t be playing tomorrow and will just do some light bike work to get the blood flowing,” Navratilova added.

“It was amazing that he was able to play this well when he felt so lousy about his prospects. It is a good thing that we have tie-breaks in the final set because one or both of them would have been taken out of here on a stretcher.”