MELBOURNE – Bulgaria's world No.3 Grigor Dimitrov breezed through his opening round in straight sets at the Australian Open on Monday.
Chasing his first Grand Slam title, he was too strong for Austrian qualifier Dennis Novak, winning 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in 98 minutes on Rod Laver Arena.
Dimitrov, in Rafael Nadal's top half of the draw, broke Novak's service six times and only had two break points on his own serve.
It was a smooth opening performance by a man who has never been beyond the semi-finals of a Grand Slam.
“I love playing on this court, it was tricky weather with a lot of wind in the warm-up and I tried to be compact and focused,” Dimitrov said.
“It's always a dream of mine to win a Slam, this is the next step, and the only thing I can do is to give 100 percent in each match.”
Pink? Hot pink? Salmon? @GrigorDimitrov answering the tough questions after his three set victory. #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/YUNg7Qe4O1
— #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 15, 2018