Grigor Dimitrov makes flying start in Madrid Masters
Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the second round of the Madrid Masters tennis tournament after his first-round opponent, American Donald Young, retired after going a set and two breaks behind.
Dimitrov won a tightly-fought first frame, serving well and recording 16 winners against 11 for Young, who appeared to have an issue with his back late in the set and required a medical time-out. After the interruption, Dimitrov served out the set and took a commanding 3-0 lead in the second set, with Young conceding the match early.
Dimitrov will next play Italy’s Fabio Fognini, a rematch of their second-round encounter in Monte-Carlo last month, which the Bulgarian won handily in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. To further the parallels, should Dimitrov progress, his most likely opponent in the third round would be Stan Wawrinka, whom Dimitrov defeated in the third round in Monte-Carlo.
The Bulgarian’s season so far has been a mixed bag and the clay-court swing has brought more of the same – although he reached the last eight in Monte-Carlo, he went on to lose a very one-side match to Gael Monfils in the quarters. Last week, seeded second in Istanbul’s inaugural ATP tournament, Dimitrov lost in the semi-final to Pablo Cuevas after another error-strewn performance.
He said after that match that he hoped to do better in Madrid – despite never previously progressing past the third round in the Spanish capital, he notched arguably the biggest win of his career so far here, by defeating world number one Novak Djokovic in the second round in 2013.
(Grigor Dimitrov, photo: mirsasha/flickr.com)
