Medvedev and Dimitrov were facing off for the second time in as many weeks after the world No 3 edged out the Bulgarian at the Vienna Open six days ago, with Dimitrov seeking revenge. Just like their last meeting, it was the 32-year-old who drew first blood and took an early break lead.
The third seed was able to get back on serve on his fourth break point following a lengthy game but he couldn’t keep Dimitrov at bay for long as the world No 17 immediately regained his advantage, breaking Medvedev for a second time. The Bulgarian continued to stun the Parisian crowd, pulling out some stunning trick shots and throwing himself around the court to find winners.
Dimitrov closed out the opener 6-3 in 41 minutes. Just like in Vienna, the 27-year-old needed to come from a set down if he wanted to avoid an upset. Medvedev went up a gear in the second set, having more time to construct every point and running the 32-year-old around the court until he was able to breakthrough, taking a 4-2 lead.
With the Parisian crowd chanting his name, the world No 3 found himself in trouble as he stepped up to serve for the second set. Facing two break points, Medvedev dumped the ball into the net to keep the Bulgarian alive in the second set and blew two set points on Dimitrov’s serve in the next game. The match suddenly turned as Medvedev was booed for throwing his racket, shushing the crowd in response.
But his actions backfired and the third seed was jeered even more as he went to his bench and sat down, refusing to play until the fans were quiet while simultaneously riling them up by waving his arms. After a long back-and-forth which saw Medvedev slapped with a time violation for delaying the game, he resumed play and eventually had four set points on Dimitrov’s serve at 6-5, failing to take them once again.
The dramatic set went to a tiebreak where Medvedev finally took it 7-6(4) at the seventh time of asking. The 27-year-old saved two break points early in the third set as things started to settle down following a tense end to the second. But Dimitrov continued to chip away at Medvedev’s resolve and finally earned himself a break to lead 4-2 before the dramatics returned.
With six match points now saved, the third seed forced a decisive tiebreak, where Dimitrov raced to a 5-0 lead. Finally on his seventh match point, the 32-year-old closed out a dramatic three-set victory in two hours and 45 minutes.
It means that another top seed has fallen at the first hurdle after world No 2 Carlos Alcaraz suffered a shock defeat to Roman Safiullin in his opening match on Tuesday night. Their losses leave No 7 Stefanos Tsitsipas as the highest remaining seed in the bottom half of the draw, with the Greek star yet to play his first match.
