An irreducible Davidovich punishes Dimitrov and qualifies for his first Masters 1000 final

Monte Carlo will have an unsuspected protagonist this Sunday.

defeated

6-4, 6-7 (2) and 6-3, in two hours and 43 minutes, and will play his first ATP final at the Principality Masters 1000.

It will be measured with the winner of the match between

and

.

Starting from 46th place, after a modest start to the season, the 2017 Wimbledon junior champion has entered the fight for the title in one of the temples of clay.

Absent

, 11 times winner of the tournament, and eliminated

in his debut, Spain defends his tradition in the first big date on clay of this course.

Far from imploding after his second-round victory over

, Davidovich has continued to grow throughout the tournament.

The win against the world number 1 was just a starting point.

In his first semifinal of a Masters 1000, he made it clear from the first ball that he was not going to allow his opponent too much joy.

Dimitrov, a stylist on whom great unfulfilled projects were deposited, went to the net with a good right hand and found himself with an

accurate

The 30-year-old Bulgarian had experience on his side.

Not surprisingly, he has eight titles, including the 2017 ATP Finals and the Cincinnati Masters 1000, which he won that same season, in addition to having been present in the semifinals of three Grand Slam tournaments.

Davidovich, 22, has ways more suited to clay.

Without sticking to the most orthodox repertoire of this surface, he does know how to handle heights and move with the required patience.

Punishment on the reverse

Dimitrov's one-handed backhand took constant punishment.

The break in the third game was enough for the man from Malaga to take the first set.

With hardly any slips, except for a poorly executed

goal at 30-0 and 5-4, Davidovich asserted conviction and solidity.

Not even an early

in the second set allowed the Bulgarian to consolidate a reaction.

True to his plan, without losing his head, Davidovich immediately recovered it.

Dimitrov defends little and has no plan B. If things don't go his way, he tends to self-destruct.

It was the Spaniard who opened the door for him in an unexpected way.

The game where he served to win the match, at 5-4, was the worst of the afternoon.

He gave it up and dragged his penalty to the tiebreaker.

Already at a disadvantage in the third set, after looking to his coach,

, for answers, he played a low serve with which he neutralized a break ball.

They were very delicate moments.

He had brought to life his talented opponent, who was pressing him for a second

in the final set.

Davidovich came out alive after four threats on his serve, in a 13-minute game.

He then asked to be seen by the physical therapist.

Mild problem in the adductor, for which he did not require physical treatment.

That's where his rebirth started.

Dimitrov did not know how to assume the options wasted and gave up five consecutive games.

The Spaniard returned to serve to win the game.

This time with 5-3 and still present the setbacks of the previous set.

This time it did not fail.

He won it brilliantly.

He finished with an

before kneeling on the sand, shaking his rival's hand and running madly to his corner, where

, a member of his working group, was also present.

Quarterfinalist in 2021, when he had to retire against Tsitsipas due to injury, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina is already facing the most important game of his life.

He has known how to wait, without giving up in the difficult transition after his victory at the All England Club, and he is getting the rewards he deserves.

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