Playing for the first time since a knee injury, Jannik defeated Giovanni MPethi, (5), 6-1 at the Rolex Paris Masters on Monday night.
Dimitrov saved all three break points he faced and broke Jpettsi – arguably the greatest server on the ATP Tour – a three-time runner-up in the second set alone. The 34-year-old Bulgarian won in one hour and 35 minutes.
“I’m still trying to keep my head down all the time away from the court,” Dimitrov reflected. “It’s never been easy. I knew that competing was going to be hard work. I wanted to go out and test myself, and try hard to change everything that I gave to it all.
“It doesn’t matter how much experience you have. There’s always this extra pressure, especially after so many months. But I’m just one day at a time.”
The world 38 expects either Daniil Medvedev or Jaume Munar around two.
