Australian Open - Dimitrov beats injury-hampered Istomin to reach quarter-finals

By Ian Ransom

MELBOURNE ( Reuters) - Grigor Dimitrov reached his first grand slam quarter-final in over two years on Monday by defeating an injury-hampered Denis Istomin 2-6 7-6(2) 6-2 6-1 to end the Uzbek wildcard's fairytale run at Melbourne Park.

Istomin, who sensationally knocked out six-times champion Novak Djokovic in the second round, laboured with an apparent left thigh injury after winning the first set and 15th seed Dimitrov took full advantage of his opponent's struggles.

Running 117th-ranked Istomin all over the Margaret Court Arena on a scorching hot day, Dimitrov raced through the last two sets and closed out the match in two hours and 24 minutes.

Dimitrov will play 11th seed David Goffin for a place in the semi-finals.

(Editing by Sudipto Ganguly)