Bulgaria's top male tennis player Grigor Dimitrov had difficulties in the opening round of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam on Monday.

Dimitrov won against Paul-Henri Mathieu from France with 4:6, 7:6 (2), 6:2 in a match that lasted slightly over two hours, daily Dnevnik reports.

The Bulgarian was losing 4:6, 4:5, when the Frenchman had an opportunity to score a second victory in the two games between them.

However Dimitrov made a comeback and won the match.

The Bulgarian started the match hesitantly, conceded a break early on in the first set and was 1:2 behind.

Mathieu managed to keep the established lead, winning the first set with 6:4.

Dimitrov started the second set slightly better, but again was the first to concede a break.

This happened in the fifth game, when the Bulgarian made a double fault.

Mathieu consolidated his advantage, coming in the lead with 4:2 and was serving at 5:4 for winning the match.

He had two match points, but Dimitrov showed an aggressive play with which he survived in these intense moments.

The Bulgarian achieved a break and equalised for 5:5.

The set went into a tiebreak, in which Dimitrov established a 3:0 lead by winning two mini-breaks and closed the set with an ace.

The second set was a turning point for both players – the Bulgarian stabilised his performance, while the Frenchman lost his confidence.

Dimitrov won the first five games in the third set, achieving breaks in the first and fifth games and closed the set with 6:2.

The Bulgarian recorded 13 aces against three for his opponent, both of them making three double faults.

In the second round of the singles competition Dimitrov is to face Gilles Muller from Luxembourg, who defeated the Belgian David Goffin with 7:6, 6:7, 6:3.