Grigor Dimitrov cruised past lucky loser Mohamed Safwat 6-1 6-4 7-6(1) to make the second round at Roland Garros.
The Bulgarian had to adapt fast in his first match in Paris after he had a change in opponent as 35 minutes before play began, Viktor Troicki had pulled out due to a lower back issue that had troubled him throughout the clay court season. So Mohamed Safwat came in to replace the Serbian and became the first Egyptian to play a grand slam main draw since 1996.
However the change in opponent didn’t seem to bother the fourth seed as he stormed into a convincing 3-0 lead. The Egyptian hadn’t even played a main draw ATP match never mind the first round of a grand slam on Philippe Chatrier, and the occasion was starting to get to the world number 182. Another break of serve helped the world number five to another break of serve as he eased to the first set in 23 minutes.
Originally the second set was heading the same way as the Bulgarian’s athleticism earned him a double break for a 4-0 lead as the Egyptian looked clueless on the court. Despite the score-line the Egyptian continued to show fight and determination and eventually got his rewards as he broke back in the sixth game with a stunning cross-court forehand. Nethertheless Dimitrov remained cool under serve as he held to love for a 2 sets to love lead.
The third set was much more competitive as Safwat was able to gain many more points on his serve as his unique forehand was causing Dimitrov many problems. There was a small amount of frustration for the Bulgarian as he couldn’t break the Egyptian in the third set. A tiebreak settled the third set which proved to be the final nail in the coffin for Safwat as the fourth seed powered to victory, only losing one point in the tiebreak.
The Bulgarian admitted afterwards that he only found out about the change in opponent 20 minutes before his match, “I found out 20 minutes before the match, I was hanging around the locker room and Viktor goes good luck and I was like ‘what’s happening?’ but that’s just how it goes you have to adapt.”
It was a day to remember for the Egyptian lucky loser as he can hold his head up high from his effort in his first ever grand slam match. However it was the Bulgarian who did what he needed to do to make the second round as his second serve will still need improving.
In his bid to make the second week for the first time at Roland Garros, Dimitrov will now play either Jared Donaldson or Nicolas Jarry in round two on Wednesday.
