Grigor Dimitrov made a confident start to his Roland Garros campaign after defeating American Aleksandar Kovacic 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in a first-round match.
For the Bulgarian tennis player, this is the 14th consecutive participation in the main scheme of the tournament, and he has overcome the first round for the ninth time. Dimitrov started shakily against world number 88 Kovacic and conceded an early break for 3-4, but then took three straight games, including two on his opponent's serve, to take the lead. In the second part, one break was enough for Grigor to succeed, and in the third part he led with 4-2 and a break, but allowed a ribbreak. However, the Bulgarian took the final two games and closed out the match after nearly two hours of play.
Dimitrov finished the match with eight aces, 83 percent of first serve points won, as well as 35 winners against 16 unforced errors. His opponent also finished with a positive balance of 27 winners and 17 errors.
In the second round in Paris, Dimitrov will meet the qualifier from Kazakhstan Mikhail Kukushkin or the Hungarian Fabian Marozhan. /BGNES
