Ram shocks Dimitrov to reach Delray Beach final

Ram shocks Dimitrov to reach Delray Beach final

DELRAY BEACH (UNITED STATES) - American Rajeev Ram upset Bulgarian fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-4, 6-3 Saturday to reach the final of the ATP Delray Beach Open.

Rajeev Ram of the US plays a backhand return on day four of the 2016 Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne on January 21, 2016

Dimitrov never managed a break point against the 31-year-old home-nation favorite and fell after only 72 minutes.

Ram, seeking a third career ATP crown after winning on Newport grass in 2009 and last year, advanced to Sunday's championship match against the winner of a later semi-final between countryman Sam Querrey and Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro.

2009 US Open champion Del Potro is making a comeback in his first tournament since last March following left wrist surgery last June.

Ram, ranked 89th, broke Dimitrov to open the match and held from there to capture the first set, taking the final game to love. After an early break in the second set, Ram broke Dimitrov again in the final game, the match ending when the Bulgarian netted a forehand.

Ram also won their only prior meeting at Atlanta in 2011.

Del Potro, ranked 1,042nd in the world, missed most of the 2014 and 2015 seasons with wrist problems. The 27-year-old wildcard has won both prior meetings with 61st-ranked Querrey, taking the 2009 Auckland final and a 2011 Valencia quarter-final without dropping a set.

Del Potro seeks his 19th career ATP title but the first since Sydney in 2014, while Querrey is looking for his eighth career crown and first since Los Angeles in 2012.

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