Grigor Dimitrov made a confident start at the British Open, advancing to the second round with a dominant straight-sets victory over Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. The 34-year-old Bulgarian, currently the top-ranked player from his country, needed just under an hour and forty minutes to secure the win: 6-2, 6-3, 6-4. This was his fourth consecutive straight-sets win over Nishioka in official matches.

Dimitrov opened the match with a quick break and never looked back. He added a second break to close the first set and maintained his grip in the following two sets, breaking late in the eighth and ninth games to seal each. His serve was a major weapon - he fired off 26 aces with just 3 double faults and conceded only four points on his first serve throughout the match. At the net, he was nearly flawless, converting 19 of 21 approaches, and he wrapped up the contest with 49 winners against 23 unforced errors.

Next up for Dimitrov is Frenchman Corentin Moutet. The two have met twice before, with Moutet winning both encounters, including a memorable five-set comeback at Wimbledon in 2019. Dimitrov, a semi-finalist at the All England Club back in 2014, will be looking to reverse that history.

Elsewhere in the draw, the tournament saw its fourth top-10 casualty in just the opening round. World No. 3 Alexander Zverev bowed out in a grueling five-set battle against Arthur Rinderknech of France. The match, which had been suspended overnight due to darkness, resumed with the players tied at one set each. Rinderknech ultimately prevailed 6-7 (3), 7-6 (8), 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in four hours and forty-five minutes - marking the biggest win of his career. Zverev joined other early exits from the top 10: Lorenzo Musetti (7), Holger Rune (8), and Daniil Medvedev (9).

However, not all seeds stumbled. Jack Draper (4) and Taylor Fritz (5) both advanced. Draper handled Argentina’s Sebastian Baez in front of the home crowd, while Fritz completed a comeback win over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The Frenchman had stunned Fritz the day before with a 246 km/h ace, but the American regrouped to finish the job.

Meanwhile, 28th seed Alexander Bublik, the recent champion in Halle, failed to continue his grass-court form and was eliminated by Spain’s Jaume Munar in another five-set duel.

Source: BGNES