The ongoing Rotterdam Open is offering some terrific match ups right from the first round. World No. 22 Grigor Dimitrov faced No. 16 Denis Shapovalov in the opening round of the ATP 500 event.

Shapovalov, seeded No. 8 here, had come into the event in dismal form losing in the first round of Australian Open and also in Montpelier a few days back. Dimitrov, once ranked as high as No. 3, too lost in the first round of Montpellier and second of Australian Open.

Good start helps Grigor Dimitrov take lead

Dimitrov did not start well on his service game, going down 15-40 on opening game. Shapovalov chipped his return well and deep but the Bulgarian managed to hold with good one-two winner and an ace.

Shapovalov started his serve with a double fault and then again at 30-15 to open the door for Dimitrov to pounce. As Denis struggled to get a first serve in, Dimitrov took control by breaking the Canadian and lead the set 2-0.

Never looked like breaking Dimitrov despite 2 break points but hit a beauty backhand cross court winner from high up in the air.

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Shapovalov finally got on board at 1-3, but still inconsistent with his first serve. The slow start hurt the No. 8 seed, despite an aggressive game plan of approaching the net whenever he could.

By now, Denis finally got into some good serving rhythm, but damage was already done. Dimitrov served well enough to not allow Shapovalov a look in. A fair few one-twos in the set by Grigor brought him to 5-3 on serve. He made no mistake in grasping the opportunity to go 1-0 set up.

A set of holds

The second set was a stark contrast to the first. Both players served well and managed to hold quite comfortably. Shapovalov looked bleak on return, hardly posing any problems his opponent’s serve. As did Dimitrov, but he had a set advantage and probably did not mind a tie-break.  Dimitrov did not look any better either but had a set advantage.

The Canadian finally had some encouragement at 3-2 when he forced a deuce on Grigor’s serve. Both players played some good ground strokes in the game, and a wonderfully constructed point by Denis forced a deuce. But ultimately, Dimitrov held serve once again.

Shapovalov’s frustration, on return continued in the second set. He simply could not force the issue on the Bulgarian despite having a couple of half-chances to break in the set. A solid serve was the only reason the Canadian was still in the match.

At 5-4, Dimitrov looked a tad but tense going down 30-40 with a double fault, giving Denis a set point. But two long chip returns by him allowed Dimitrov to hold. Another solid hold by him meant he had one last chance to break and avoid a tie-break.

Another shaky start by Grigor opened the door for Shapovalov, but the Bulgarian recovered in time to force a tie-break.

Tie Break

Shapovalov played a very good point but could not finish it off at the net to go down a mini-break. Shapovalov managed to get the mini break back and go 1-2 on serve after one of the longer rallies in the match.

Another mini break gave Dimitrov a 4-2 lead at the change of sides. The Bulgarian played a beautiful point to get a 6-3 lead  and three match points.

Grigor Dimitrov needed just one as Shapovalov hit his backhand long.

The match ended with just a single break at the very start of the first set. Both players served really well as the match went on, but Shapovalov could not do much on return. Grigor Dimitrov played the big points much better and his forehand worked well throughout the match.