Grigor Dimitrov vs. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas in French Open quarters

PARIS (AP) — Grigor Dimitrov bloodied his racket-holding hand and right elbow by diving for a shot. He was covered in French Open clay — his arm, his leg, his back. He didn’t get a whole lot of sleep the night before, because rain forced him to forfeit the usual day off between Grand Slam matches.

None of that mattered. Here’s what did: The 10th-seeded Dimitrov reached the quarterfinals at Roland Garros for the first time at age 33, beating No. 8 Hubert Hurkacz 7-6 (5), 6-4, 7-6 (3) at Court Suzanne Lenglen on Sunday.

“Better late than never,” said Dimitrov, who was wearing bandages on the side of his hand and arm after getting treatment.

“I was just telling myself: I’m going to get to every single ball that is there,” he said. “I’m like: No ball is passing me.”

Dimitrov entered the day 0-2 in fourth-rounders in Paris but made it to the final eight in his 14th appearance here, giving him a full set of quarterfinals from the four Grand Slam tournaments. The Bulgarian, who will play No. 2 Jannik Sinner next, got to the semifinals once apiece at the U.S. Open, Australian Open and Wimbledon.