The opening round of the men鈥檚 singles category at the Cincinnati Open 2021 saw two top 20 players engage in a competitive battle. World No. 13 Roberto Bautista Agut faced World No. 20 Grigor Dimitrov to advance to the second round in the final warmup tournament before the US Open.
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Coming into the game, the Bulgarian led his Spanish opponent 3-1 in their head to head. In an intense match which had a suspension in play, Dimitrov took home the match in straight sets.
Grigor Dimitrov defeats Roberto Bautista Agut at the Cincinnati Open 2021
In the first set, Dimitrov served the first game of the set. While he held his serve, he took an early advantage by breaking his Spanish opponent鈥檚 first service game to go 2-0 up. Despite Bautista Agut making 68% of his first serve, he couldn鈥檛 match Dimitrov鈥檚 service game.
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In fact, the Bulgarian fired 10 aces in the first set. No more breaks followed Dimitrov鈥榮 early break, with the World No. 20 comfortably sealing the first set 6-3.
Slice pass winner 馃敟 @GrigorDimitrov can do no wrong right now! #CincyTennis
Although Bautista Agut served the first game of the second set, Dimitrov once again broke his first service game of the set. The Bulgarian broke his serve in the first break point of the second set to go 1-0 up. However, the World No. 13 broke Dimitrov鈥檚 serve in the very next game to tie the set at 1-1.
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Aug 13, 2021; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain returns a ball to Reilly Opelka of the United States (not pictured) at Aviva Centre. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
Despite Dimitrov threatening yet another break in the third game, Agut held his serve to go 2-1 up. While both players kept their serve games, rain suspended play with the Spaniard leading the set 4-3. Play resumed after an hour, with Dimitrov immediately tying the set 4-4.
The Bulgarian kept up the intensity after that, breaking Agut鈥檚 serve in the crucial ninth game to go 5-4 up. Serving for the match in the 10th game, there was no looking back for the World No. 20. He ended the match with a love service game to clinch the second set 6-4.
Back in fine form 馃憣 @GrigorDimitrov defeats Bautista Agut 6-3 6-4 for his first top 20 win since the Australian Open! #CincyTennis
With this result, Dimitrov moves onto to face either Alexander Bublik or Marcos Giron in the third round. Could the Cincinnati Open add another title to his collection?
READ MORE: Grigor Dimitrov鈥檚 Girlfriends: A History and Timeline of the Girls that he Dated