Roger Federer vs Grigor Dimitrov - US Open Preview and Prediction

World Number 3, Roger Federer, takes on the World Number 78, Grigor Dimitrov, in an eagerly awaited clash tomorrow. The fans will be excited to see two players with similar playing styles battling it out against each other.

Roger Federer has had a fairly great year so far. He won his favourite Dubai Open for a record eighth time defeating Tsitsipas 6-4 6-4. Tsitsipas had stunned Federer in the fourth round of the Australian Open and Federer got sweet revenge. He finished as runner-up in the Indian Wells Masters losing a thrilling match to Dominic Thiem in three sets. Federer put that narrow loss aside and won the Miami Masters trouncing the defending champion- John Isner 6-1 6-4 in the finals.

He took a gamble playing clay and reached the quarterfinals in Madrid and Rome and lost to Nadal in the semifinals of the French Open. Federer returned to winning ways clinching a 10th Halle Open title beating Goffin in the finals. Federer suffered a heart-breaking loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon finals losing 13-12 in the fifth set. He could not convert 2 championship points off his own serve at 8-7 (40-15) and missed a ninth Wimbledon title.

Federer's preparations for US Open were halted after a shock loss to Andrey Rublev in the pre-quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open. He started slowly in the first two rounds of the US Open losing the first set to Nagal and Dzumhur respectively. However, he came back strongly to win both the matches in four sets.

The next two matches were expected to be competitive for Federer. But, he was unstoppable winning both the matches against Evans and Goffin in straight sets in just 160 minutes combined. Federer punished both the opponents for their mistakes and dropped just 9 games in both the matches. Through that performance, the fans saw the Roger they were waiting for- ruthless, consistent and attacking.

On the other hand, Grigor Dimitrov, a former top 10 player has not had a great year at all. He has dropped down to 78 and exited many tournaments early. His best performance has been reaching the quarterfinals in the Brisbane Open. Dimitrov has failed to impress in the Grand Slams crashing out in the fourth round of the Australian Open, the third round of the French Open and the first round of the Wimbledon.

Dimitrov has played his best tennis so far defeating Seppi in four sets, Majchrzak and De Minaur in straight sets. He got much-needed rest when Coric gave a walkover in the second round.

Federer holds the advantage going into this with a 7-0 head to head record against Dimitrov. The Bulgarian has to play to his strengths and use the serve-volley tactic backed by an attacking game. Federer loves to thrive on the opponent's errors and Dimitrov will look to minimize them.

"It’s my first time in the quarterfinals here of the US Open, so I’m going to make the most of it. This is what I practice for, to play these matches", said an emotional Dimitrov after his win against Alex De Minaur in the fourth round.

This is the best chance for both players to achieve some great feats. Federer will be looking to end a decade drought of no US Open titles. His path has become easier after the shock retirement of Djokovic to Wawrinka in the fourth round. While fans would miss a Federer- Djokovic semi, Federer will be strongly pursuing his sixth US Open title.

This is probably one of the best chances for "Baby Fed", Dimitrov, to beat Federer. He should take advantage if Federer is sluggish at the start. The fact that he is playing pain-free and has legends like Radek Stepanek and Andre Agassi on his coaching team would boost his confidence.

Federer playing freely can cause a lot of headaches for Dimitrov and he will look to not allow Federer to get into his groove.

A statistical comparison of Federer and Dimitrov ahead of their match

Federer will be looking to finish the match as fast as possible as he can expect a long match in the semis with Wawrinka or Medvedev waiting. Dimitrov does not have anything to lose and will be keen to put up a good fight.

Prediction

Roger Federer to win in four sets