Follow us on Google Discover Grigor Dimitrov made a triumphant return to ATP Tour action at the Paris Masters.
The Bulgarian star hadn’t played a match since Wimbledon, where Dimitrov injured his pectoral muscle against Jannik Sinner in the fourth round.
Making his return in Paris, Dimitrov took on the big-serving Frenchman, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard.
Photo by Jean Catuffe/Getty Images
Picking up the win in straight sets, 7-6, 6-1, Dimitrov secured his place in round two, where he will take on either Jaume Munar or Daniil Medvedev.
Reacting to Dimitrov’s performance, tennis legend Jim Courier revealed what he is still waiting to see from the 34-year-old.
Jim Courier is waiting to see Grigor Dimitrov hit the shot that he injured himself on
The former world number one is waiting to see Dimitrov truly push the limits upon his return from injury.
“The thing that I would watch for, the serve is not where he injured it, he actually injured it on a backhand volley,” said Courier.
“That will be the one, when he gets pushed to hit that shot again, does he trust it.
“It’s like watching [Alexander] Zverev trust moving to his right a few years ago after he had that ankle injury at Roland Garros.
“You’ve got to be able to replicate that move, ‘Ok, my body held’, now I’m back, and I’m ok.”
Courier’s fellow American Sam Querrey agreed, as he said Dimitrov needs to overcome the ‘mental hurdle’ associated with returning from injury.
“It’s always tough. Look, you’re going to test it in practice, right?” he said.
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“But it’s always a little different when you get on the court for a match, those first few games you feel into it, whatever the injury is, you gain a little bit of belief, in his case, with every serve.
“For him, it’s a mental hurdle more than anything.”
Querrey was impressed with the level Dimitrov showed against Mpetshi Perricard, giving him an ‘A’ rating for his performance.
“I give him an A. A lot of guys wouldn’t have played here, right? It’s the last tournament of the year, it just goes to show how much he loves tennis,” said Querrey.
“He could have not played this, taken a couple of more months, and started in Australia, but he said, Hey, I love this game, I want to play that last event of the year and it was great to see him back on court.”
Courier believes Dimitrov is treating the Paris Masters as a ‘pre-season’ training tournament, as he looked ahead to his second round match.
“As soon as you’re healthy, if you’re Dimitrov, you want to get back out there and finish the year on an upswing, instead of mothballing everything and getting ready for next year,” he said.
“This is basically pre-season training for him in his mind, I’m sure.
“I like it, we will see how far he goes from here, he’s got a tricky draw, either [Daniil] Medvedev or [Jaume] Munar next, so it doesn’t get easier, but the fact that he’s here, it’s already a huge win.”
As Courier mentioned, he’s been given a tricky draw in Paris, but how has he performed against Medvedev and Munar in the past?
Grigor Dimitrov’s head-to-head record vs Daniil Medvedev and Jaume Munar
Dimitrov has yet to play Spain’s Munar, but has met Medvedev 11 times in total.
MatchWinnerLoserScore2024 Wimbledon – 4RDaniil MedvedevGrigor Dimitrov5-3 (RET)2024 Indian Wells – 4RDaniil MedvedevGrigor Dimitrov6-4, 6-42023 Paris Masters – 2RGrigor DimitrovDaniil Medvedev6-3, 6-7, 7-62023 Vienna Open – 2RDaniil MedvedevGrigor Dimitrov3-6, 6-2, 6-42023 Rotterdam Open – SFDaniil MedvedevGrigor Dimitrov6-1, 6-22023 Vienna Open – SFDaniil MedvedevGrigor Dimitrov6-4, 6-22021 Indian Wells – 4RGrigor DimitrovDaniil Medvedev4-6, 6-4, 6-32021 Cincinnati Open – 3RDaniil MedvedevGrigor Dimitrov6-3, 6-32019 US Open – SFDaniil MedvedevGrigor Dimitrov7-6, 6-4, 6-32017 Washington Open – 3RDaniil MedvedevGrigor Dimitrov6-4, 6-22017 Queen’s – QFGrigor DimitrovDaniil Medvedev6-3, 3-6, 6-3Daniil Medvedev and Grigor Dimitrov’s head-to-head record
Dimitrov trails Medvedev in the head-to-head 8-3, but beat him in their only previous meeting at the Paris Masters two years ago.
Photo by Ibrahim Ezzat/NurPhoto via Getty Images
The Bulgarian would no doubt love a repeat result should they face off in Paris again this year.
Medvedev will first have to get past Munar, whom he plays in the first round on Tuesday, October 28.