By Stephen Higgins
Kyrian Jacquet produced a fantastic performance at Elm Park to defeat former world no. 3 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 in the Dublin Challenge.
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 number three 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 as he took the first 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.
Grigor Dimitrov is out
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.
In the other quarter-final in that half, wildcard Henry Searle continued his fine form 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 and will now face Jacquet.
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 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.
The home crowd were then thrilled as Gannon and Barry secured a great 1-6 6-3 11-9 comeback victory over the top-seed pairing of Rithvik Choudary Bollipalli and Trey Hilderbrand.
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.
Friday’s schedule starts with Jacquet and Searle, followed by Droguet against Rodionov. Gannon and Barry will be the third act on the main court.