Dimitar Kuzmanov dropped out in the first round of the Sofia Open 2023. The Davis Cup national lost 0-6, 3-6 to Cem Ilkel (Turkey) after nearly an hour and a half at Arena Sofia. Thus ended the Bulgarian singles participation in the competition, after Alexandar Lazarov lost to Pavel Kotov from Russia earlier on Wednesday.
The victory is Ilkel's third in four matches against Kuzmanov. In the round of 16, Ilkel, who like Kuzmanov received a wild card into the main draw, will face No. 6 seed Max Purcell of Australia. Earlier on Wednesday, Purcell defeated compatriot Rinky Hijikata 6-3, 6-3.
Kuzmanov attributed the defeat to a health problem. The Davis Cup national revealed that he felt a problem in his left leg already during the warm-up. "I know Ilkel very well, we are good friends and often train together. He has almost nothing to surprise me with. I'm sorry and it hurts a lot that I wasn't able to play at 100 percent because I had a problem in my left leg".
At the end of the press conference, the Bulgarian national revealed that he has a different program for 2024. "Now I will rest well because the season was long. I haven't stopped for 11 months, I've played many tournaments, including the Davis Cup. I'm happy to have stayed injury-free almost to the end and also to be in the top 200 in the world for the second year in a row. There was more to achieve, but that's how it works sometimes. My team and I have a totally different training plan. I hope everything goes well and we fulfill our goals". /BGNES
