Grigor Dimitrov was triumphant in his first competitive match since his injury retirement at Wimbledon, as he defeated France’s Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6 (5), 6-1 in the first round of the Rolex Paris Masters on Monday.
Dimitrov never had his serve broken, gradually pulling away in the first-set tiebreaker before dominating the second set. He dropped only six points on his first serve, winning 22 of 28.
The 34-year-old Bulgarian dropped out of his match against eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the fourth round at Wimbledon. Dimitrov led Sinner two sets to none before going down with a pectoral injury he could not play through.
After Monday’s match, Dimitrov said he was still “trying to wrap (his) head around” being sidelined for so long.
“It was never easy,” Dimitrov said. “I knew that coming to competition is just going to be a difficult task. I just wanted to come out and test myself, give myself a chance. I think winning or losing tonight, I still would have felt like I’ve given all I had.
“Of course, it’s very difficult to adjust, especially playing against a player like (Mpetshi Perricard). You have to be aware throughout the whole time and stay focused.”
Dimitrov will face either No. 11 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia or Jaume Munar of Spain in the second round. Medvedev and Munar will play Tuesday.
Three seeded players were in action on Monday, and all three advanced.
No. 10 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia routed qualifier Ethan Quinn 6-1, 6-1 in 61 minutes. Fellow Russian and No. 12 seed Andrey Rublev breezed past British qualifier Jacob Fearnley 6-1, 6-4, and No. 13 Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.
Rublev benefited from Fearnley committing 19 unforced errors, including 11 double faults.
“I was able to step up and play solid tennis,” said Rublev, who had not won a match since the U.S. Open fourth round. “I’ve been struggling for a while with the wins. To win such a match like this on center court, it’s a good feeling.”
Of 16 matches Monday, just three reached a third set. Belgium’s Zizou Bergs topped Alex Michelsen 6-3, 2-6, 6-2. Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic got past lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 1-6, 7-6 (2). And Australian qualifier Aleksandar Vukic beat Frenchman Terence Atmane 6-4, 2-6, 6-4.
Other winners included Learner Tien, Germany’s Daniel Altmaier, France’s Alexandre Muller, Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo, Italians Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Sonego and French wild cards Arthur Cazaux and Arthur Rinderknech.
–Field Level Media
