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By defeating David Goffin 6-0, 6-2, Grigor Dimitrov not only guarantees himself a place in Saturday's semifinal, but he also stamps his mark on Bulgarian history. In doing so, he becomes the first Bulgarian player to reach the semifinals in the 48-year history of the Nitto ATP Finals. And despite now living in Monte Carlo, the world No.6 took time in his post-match press conference to pay tribute to his roots. "Deep down in my heart, I'm Bulgarian," he said. "I still have a Bulgarian passport. I compete for Bulgaria. I'm proud to be Bulgarian. Zero shame of anything of that, or anywhere else I lived in the world." He also had to put right one journalist's miscalculations around the number of Grigor's ex-girlfriends ... For Goffin, it just wasn't his day. Was it his overly strapped knee causing him bother? Or perhaps it was the gruelling two and a half hour battle with World No.1 on Monday? "No," said Goffin. "I'm feeling 100%." Goodness knows what classifies as an off-day then, David?! But hey, on the bright side, you did beat Grigor to our shot of the day award: Though the Bryan brothers -- who lost to top seeded doubles pair Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo 6-4, 6-3 earlier in the day -- came in at a commendable second:
An early Sock-ing present for Jack ...On Tuesday, Jack Sock became the first American to win a singles match at the event since 2007 when he ousted Marin Cilic 5-7, 6-2, 7-6. As a congratulations present -- and as a good luck ahead of his next contest against Alexander Zverev on Thursday -- NFL UK sent the Kansas Chiefs fan an early Christmas gift ... We wonder if the new stash will make its way into Jack's tennis wardrobe ...
On this day in history: Verdasco is born!While Pablo Carreno Busta was battling it out against Dominic Thiem on centre court here at the ATP Finals (with the Austrian eventually crunching a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4), his Spanish compatriot, Fernando Verdasco, was celebrating his 34th Birthday. Here's a flashback to some 2005 Fernando magic, for old time's sake:
An alternative practice courtIn preparation for his Round Robin match against Carreno Busta, Dominic Thiem found himself an alternative practice court ... Not sure we can see this setup catching on, Dominic.
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