“Do you want to make a change?” – Hubert Hurkacz urges Grigor Dimitrov to join chair umpire protest amid their Roland Garros R4 encounter

Hubert Hurkacz had enough of the female chair umpire during his Roland Garros defeat.

“Do you want to make a change?” – Hubert Hurkacz urges Grigor Dimitrov to join chair umpire protest amid their Roland Garros R4 encounter

Grigor Dimitrov and Hubert Hurkacz (via Open Source/X)

Tenth seed Grigor Dimitrov battled past eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3) to move into the French Open quarter-finals. The Bulgarian continues his remarkable return to form in 2024, highlighted by a title in Brisbane and two finals in Open 13 and Miami.

However, it was his opponent who caught the headlines on social media. In the third set, Hurkacz was annoyed at the female chair umpire when one of his shots was called out. During one of the changeovers, the Polish player went to Dimitrov’s sitting area and urged him to join the protest against the umpire.

G? You wanna make a change? Or you wanna continue with the lady here?
Hubert Hurkacz asked Grigor Dimitrov

Dimitrov appeared puzzled by the situation and returned to his seat, but Hurkacz approached him again for a brief conversation. The Bulgarian ace seemed uncertain and asked for clarification. Hurkacz explained that it was up to Dimitrov whether they kept the current umpire or not. Ultimately, Dimitrov deferred the decision to Hubi, indicating he was fine with whatever Hubi preferred.

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Hurkacz’s struggle to control his emotions ultimately cost him the match. In contrast, Dimitrov maintained his composure and won the third-set tiebreak, securing his spot in the French Open quarter-finals. This achievement marked his first time reaching the last eight at Roland Garros after 15 years of effort.

Grigor Dimitrov secures an impressive win over Hubert Hurkacz to reach Roland Garros quarter-finals

Grigor Dimitrov triumphed over Hubert Hurkacz in an all-Top 10 matchup, to advance to his first quarter-final at the French Open. At 33 years old, the Bulgarian has now reached the quarter-finals in all four Grand Slam tournaments.

Grigor Dimitrov
Grigor Dimitrov emotional after winning (via Imago)

Despite a heavy fall while diving for a volley in the third set, which required treatment for his hand, Dimitrov secured a two-hour and 51-minute victory on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. This win continued his unbeaten record against Hurkacz, making it six wins in their ATP Head2Head encounters.

In the match, Dimitrov saved all five break points he faced in the first set, including three at 5-5, 0/40. After winning the first-set tie-break, the 2017 World Tour Finals champion displayed greater consistency over the next two sets and seemed poised for an easy win with a 3-1 lead in the third set.

Hurkacz, aiming for his first Roland Garros quarter-final as well, managed to force a tie-break but couldn’t sustain his momentum. Dimitrov took the first four points of the tie-break and withstood 20 aces from Hurkacz to secure his win.

With this victory, the Bulgarian joined an elite group of active players—Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Daniil Medvedev, and Marin Cilic—who have reached the quarter-finals of all Grand Slam and ATP Masters 1000 events. Now holding a 28-8 record for the 2024 season, Dimitrov is set to face second seed Jannik Sinner in a replay of their Miami final earlier this year, which the Italian won.

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