Grigor Dimitrov made a heroic return to competition at the Paris Masters, taking out home hope Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in his first match in 112 days. Dimitrov had a two-set-to-love lead over top seed and eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the fourth round of Wimbledon over the summer, and looked well on his way to causing a huge upset, when he picked up a career-threatening injury.
The former world No. 3 went down with a pectoral issue and retired from the match in tears. It looked as though Dimitrov’s 2025 season was over. But at the last minute, he was able to make a comeback in Paris, where he sealed a 7-6(5) 6-1 victory – his 25th career win at the tournament.
The Bulgarian was clearly emotional after winning his first match since early July, pumping both his fists and looking towards his box, which included his new coach, Grant Chen, and fitness trainer, Yutaka Nakamura.
Dimitrov won a gruelling 67-minute opening set before running away with the second, but he admitted that he would have been satisfied no matter what the result was.
“It never happened to me, so I think I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole time away from the court. It was never easy. I knew that coming to competition is going to be a difficult, difficult task. But again, I just wanted to come out and test myself, give myself a chance,” the world No. 38 explained.
“I think winning or losing tonight, I still would have felt like I given all I had. It’s very difficult to adjust, especially playing against a player like him. You have to be aware throughout the whole time and stay focused.
“It doesn’t matter how much experience you have, there’s always that added stress, especially after so many months away. But listen, it’s a good night, I’m taking it in and just going one day at a time at the moment.”
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