Grigor Dimitrov will be playing in arguably the biggest game of his career when he faces tournament favorite Rafael Nadal in the Australian Open 2014 quarterfinals on Tuesday night.
Dimitrov, who is romantically linked to women's tennis superstar Sharapova, will make his first Grand Slam quarter-final appearance after scoring an impressive 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 win on Monday.
"I'm really happy to be in the quarter-finals," Dimitrov said in an interview. "I've been working really hard in the past year, especially in the off-season. So it's nice to see this result."
The 22-year-old Bulgarian has a chance to make bigger waves, but Nadal is obviously a huge stumbling block.
Nadal is 3-0 against him and has been playing superbly for the past several months, but Dimitrov is unfazed, saying that he likes his chances against the current world's No. 1 tennis player.
"We all know that he has won tons of Slams. He's been a tremendous competitor. He's Rafa. We all know him," Dimitrov said on his upcoming match against Nadal. "But that's what I'm playing for, to put myself in position to play those guys. I had tough battles with him in the past. Played a couple times on clay. There were always little things missing. But I'm quite happy with the way I'm performing so far. So I like my chances."
Nadal will be a heavy favorite heading into their match, but the top-seeded player in the tournament is not expected to take Dimitrov lightly especially after his hard-earned win in the fourth round.
Nadal needed three hours and 17 minutes to dispatch 16th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan in their fourth-round encounter. Nadal scored a straight-set win, but the 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-5 score line suggests how Nishikori made life difficult for the Spanish tennis ace.
Meanwhile, Roger Federer and Andy Murray are also set to take court today when they face each other in the first game of the second session at the Rod Laver Arena at 3:30 a.m EST Wednesday.
The sixth-seeded Federer, who is looking to end his long major title drought, will look to avenge his loss in last year's Aussie Open semifinals to the third-seeded Murray, who is 11-9 against the Swiss superstar all-time.
Tennis fans can watch Nadal vs. Dimitrov, Murray vs. Federer live stream on the official Australian Open 2014 website.
Full Day 10 schedule can be viewed here along with video highlights of past matches through this link.
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