Grigor Dimitrov kicked off his U.S. Open campaign with a solid win against French qualifier Kyrian Jaquet, despite showing only glimpses of his best form.
Dimitrov, who is currently ranked 19th in the world, scored a three-set victory to secure a strong position for the remainder of the tournament.
Jacquet, 209th in the world rankings, earned his place in the main draw by beating Tim van Raytoven, Chan-Hong Xu and Yuri Rodionov in the qualifiers. Dimitrov, on the other hand, exited the first round of the Cincinnati Masters, where he lost to Hungary's Fabian Marozhan.
The match started with some uncertainty from Dimitrov, who looked unfocused, allowing Jacquet to maintain the lead early on. The Frenchman served well and even took a 2:1 lead, creating three break opportunities in the fourth game but failed to capitalize on them.
As the match progressed Dimitrov found his rhythm, putting pressure on Jacquet's serve.
In the fifth game, Dimitrov secured a crucial break with a powerful forehand down the line and took control of the set at 3:2.
From that point on, the Bulgarian began to dictate the pace, using his serve effectively to prevent Jacquet from gaining momentum.
Despite missing the chance for a second break, Dimitrov closed out the first set 6-3 after a Jacquet double fault, ending a 41-minute set in which Dimitrov won 88% of the points on his first serve.
In the second set, Dimitrov continued to dominate, although his inconsistency in crucial moments was evident.
After building up a 40-0 lead in game one, he allowed Jacquet to come back before eventually holding serve.
Dimitrov then broke for 3:2, but his poor play in the seventh game gave the break back to Jacquet.
Despite this setback, Dimitrov kept his composure and won the ninth game easily, then broke Jacquet again to take the set 6-4.
Jacquet managed to deflect a set point, but eventually sent a forehand into the net, bringing Dimitrov closer to victory.
In the third set, Dimitrov looked more relaxed and started to play more freely. He quickly broke Jacquet for 2-0 and consolidated his lead in the next game. The highlight of the match came at 3:1 when Dimitrov thrilled the crowd with a stunning point that left Jacquet, who thought he had won, in disbelief.
Dimitrov continued to mix brilliant shots with the occasional error, but remained steady in the key moments. The match ended in the eighth game, with Dimitrov taking the first three points and Jacquet plating the last shot to seal the Bulgarian's 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory. | BGNES
