Grigor Dimitrov, the best Bulgarian tennis player, returned to the court with an impressive victory, ending a nearly four-month absence from professional tennis. The match, which took place within the Masters 1000 tournament in Paris, saw the 34-year-old athlete prevail over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France. The result was decisive - 2:0 sets, with partial results of 7:6 (5) and 6:1.
For Dimitrov, this match marked the first match in 112 days. The reason for such a long absence were unforeseen circumstances, forcing him to withdraw from participation against the then-No. 1 in the world, Jannik Sinner, in the Wimbledon round of 16.
At the beginning of the match, the tension was palpable. Dimitrov missed one break opportunity in the first two service games of Perricard. The pressure reached its peak at 2:2, when the Bulgarian managed to deal with two break opportunities for the Frenchman. By the end of the set, the opponents did not give each other chances for a break, which led to a tiebreak. In the tiebreak, Dimitrov showed class, leading with 6-4 points. He managed to close the set in his favor on his second opportunity.
The second part of the match started with an extremely strong game from Dimitrov. He built a lead of 4:0 and convincingly won the set with 6:1.
In the second round of the tournament in Paris, Grigor Dimitrov will face the winner of the match between Daniil Medvedev of Russia, ranked 11th in the world rankings, or the Spaniard Jaume Munar. It should be noted that this year's tournament is changing its venue, moving from "Bercy" to "La Défense Arena". This is the second largest court in the tennis tour after "Arthur Ashe", the center court of the US Open.
In addition, Grigor Dimitrov will also participate in the doubles competition. His partner will be the legendary French veteran Nicolas Mahut, for whom this will be his last tournament as a professional.