“I want to go back to the top!” Grigor Dimitrov made no secret of his intentions. “I am here to regain new confidence. Honestly, I have no expectations on this tournament, but I’m hungry. My two coaches, Radek Stepanek and Andre Agassi, are also hungry. The fact that Andre Agassi came to follow me here at Parc des Eaux-Vives in my first match underlines the investment that can be made in this adventure. Our relationship is really strong.”
This Sunday, the protégé of Radek Stepanek and Andre Agassi, who didn’t avert their gaze during his match against the Swiss hopeful, will face Thomas Fabbiano (ATP 100) for a place in the main draw. Dimitrov won 7-6 6-4 6-4 last January in front of the Italian in the first round of the Australian Open for their only confrontation to date.
The first two meetings of the main draw will follow this match between Dimitrov and Fabbiano. They will pit Ernests Gulbis against Yoshihito Nishioka and Mischa Zverev, the 2017 finalist, against Juan Ignacio Londero.