Grigor Dimitrov recovered from a rocky start to see off the challenge of Marton Fucsovics and reach the Australian Open second round on Tuesday.
The 13th-seeded Bulgarian, who ended a six-year title drought in Brisbane this month, won 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2 on a sun-baked John Cain Arena.
The 32-year-old veteran said he had found it difficult to adjust to the punishing conditions but was confident he was in good physical shape.
“I knew my game wasn’t there but I could count on something else and that was my physicality today,” he said.
Dimitrov, whose best result in Melbourne is a semi-final appearance, started the match in the worst possible way, losing the first eight points as he struggled to find any sort of rhythm.
Fucsovics broke again to take an iron grip on the set and he drew first blood, taking advantage of 19 unforced errors from the racquet of Dimitrov.
Dimitrov was staring at an embarrassingly early exit when he was broken early in the second set, but he hit back straight away and repeated the trick on his way to levelling the contest.
Neither player was able to force a break in a tight third set but Dimitrov seized control of the tie-break, romping home with the loss of just one point.
The former world number three was now unrecognisable from the player who started the match.
He broke his flagging Hungarian opponent twice in the fourth set and reduced his unforced-error tally to just six, taking the set 6-2 to seal victory.
Dimitrov will face either Sebastian Ofner or Thanasi Kokkinakis in the second round.
Swiatek Gets Better of Kenin with Collins Next
Top seed Iga Swiatek ground past former Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin to make the second round Tuesday, where she faces another tough assignment against a player who beat her in the 2022 semi-finals.
It was not easy for the four-time Grand Slam winner against Kenin but she eventually triumphed 7-6 (7/2), 6-2 after a 1 hour 51 minute slog in draining conditions on Rod Laver Arena.
It was a replay of the 2020 French Open final that Polish star Swiatek won, and they had not met since.
“It wasn’t the easiest first round. She played really well. I tried to find my rhythm, especially in the first set,” said the world number one, who owns three Roland Garros crowns and another at the US Open.
“I’m happy at the end of the set I could win the most important points.”
Victory stretched the 22-year-old’s unbeaten streak to 17 matches, the second-longest of her career, after she finished 2023 by winning 11 straight in Beijing and Cancun, which took her back to world number one.
She then won five more matches at the United Cup at the start of this season, meaning she was in imperious touch coming to Melbourne.
There will be no let-up against next opponent Danielle Collins, who eased past 2016 champion Angelique Kerber in three sets.
Swiatek’s best showing in Melbourne was the semi-finals in 2022, when Collins swept past her 6-4, 6-1.
“I can’t say that I have easy draw here, I’ll try to do my best,” she said. “Danielle is a really good player. We played really tight matches.”
“On the other hand our last match was pretty — I mean, from the score, I had it under control,” she added, referring to Cincinnati last year where she dropped just one game.
“Every match is different. I’m not going to anticipate anything. I’m just going to be ready and we’ll see.”
Swiatek opened with a serve to love against 2020 champion Kenin, who has slid down the rankings to 41. But the American woke up and broke before holding to surge 3-1 clear.
With her left thigh strapped, Kenin was returning well and her was backhand on fire.
But she wobbled in the sixth game, with back-to-back double faults gifting Swiatek a break back for 3-3.
Undeterred, Kenin earned another break with a searing backhand to move 5-4 ahead only to falter again serving for the set.
It went to a tiebreak, where the top seed stepped up to get over the line after a marathon 68 minutes.
The second set was equally tight until game five, when Kenin slapped a forehand wide to hand Swiatek two break points and she converted when the American pounded a backhand long.
It was a killer blow, with Kenin having nothing left in the tank as the world number one sprinted to the finish line.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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