Grigor Dimitrov appears to have put a troublesome 2015 behind him after a gruelling 6-3, 7-6 (10) win over world No.15 Gilles Simon in the first round of the ATP Brisbane International.
The former Wimbledon semifinalist was the first to break in the match during the fourth game. After fending off three break points in his own service game prior, he successfully converted his first break point opportunity to establish a 3-1 lead over the Frenchman. The break was critical to the outcome of the opening set as Simon failed to generate any more opportunities to break back. As Dimitrov remained consistent on his serve, he closed out the opening set after 46-minutes.
Despite the relatively straightforward opening set, it was a much tougher encounter in the second set for the Bulgarian with a series of lengthy games. After losing the first set, Simon responded strongly in the second as he raced to 40-0 against Dimitrov’s serve to have three chances to take an early 2-0 lead. The fifth seed failed to convert the first two, but was successful with his third. The match momentum appeared to be changing towards the Frenchman’s favor until a devastating third game of the second set. As Simon served for a chance to extend the lead to 3-0,Dimitrov triumphantly responded by breaking back to love to forced the proceedings back on serve. Both players exchanged break points during the remainder of the set, but neither could convert as a tie-break approach.
The 22-point tie-break was a thrilling encounter with golden opportunities for both players. Initially, it appeared that the Bulgarian world No.28 would take it with ease as he grabbed a double break to lead 6-3, giving him three match points. Dimitrov however, failed to serve the match out as Simon clawed his way back into the match. Then it was the Frenchman’s turn to take advantage of Dimitrov’s inability to serve it out. The fifth seed had two separate chances to win the set, but similar to his opponent, he couldn’t win that final point. After a rollercoaster tie-break, Dimitrov finally took the match with his sixth match point to the relief of his entourage in the crowd, which included Nicole Scherzinger.
This win is Dimitrov’s first ever victory over Simon in his fifth attempt. In the next round he will play either American Steve Johnson or Viktor Troicki of Serbia. Highlights of Dimitrov’s first round match can be seen in the following video.
In other matches German qualifier Tobias Kamke dismissed Australian wildcard Benjamin Mitchell in straight sets (6-2, 6-4). Despite being ranked 46 places below Mitchell in the ATP rankings, the German didn’t face a single break point during his 79-minute match. The home crowd received a double blow when another Australian, John-Patrick Smith, made an early exit. Despite a spirited effort against American world No.69 Denis Kudla, Smith was edged out 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
