Grigor Dimitrov notched his 15th win of the 2018 ATP World Tour season on Wednesday, beating Gilles Simon 6-2, 6-1 in 82 minutes at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
Last week's Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters semi-finalist (l. to Nadal), hit 18 winners, including 12 off his forehand side, to secure his first win in the Spanish city on his third visit. Dimitrov narrows the gap in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Simon to 4-5, having now won four of their past five encounters since the 2016 Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.
The World No. 5 will face Tunisia’s Malek Jaziri for a place in the quarter-finals. The two met for the first time at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships two months ago, with Jaziri claiming a surprise three-set victory en route to the semi-finals.
Dominic Thiem overcame Spanish wild card Jaume Munar 7-6(8), 6-1 on Pista 1. The 2017 finalist was forced to save a set point at 7/6 in a tough first set tie-break, before cruising to victory in the second set to clinch his 20th match win of the season.
The Argentina Open champion (d. Bedene) won 82 per cent of points behind his first serve in the 89-minute clash and will now meet either Jozef Kovalik in the third round. The lucky loser defeated Guido Pella of Argentina 6-3, 6-3 in 80 minutes, saving all five break points he faced en route to victory.
#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas dropped just three games to beat Rio Open presented by Claro champion Diego Schwartzman 6-2, 6-1. The World No. 63 did not face a single break point throughout the 61-minute contest, tying his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with the Argentine at 1-1. Schwartzman defeated Tsitsipas in straight sets in their only previous meeting at the 2017 European Open to reach the championship match (l. to Tsonga).
Tsitsipas will meet Albert Ramos-Vinolas for a spot in the quarter-finals. The Spaniard came from a set down to beat Brazil's Rogerio Dutra Silva 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Did You Know?
Grigor Dimitrov began the 2018 ATP World Tour season with a 10-3 record, reaching the semi-finals in Brisbane (l. to Kyrgios), quarter-finals at the Australian Open (l. to Edmund) and the final in Rotterdam (l. to Federer). He reached his third semi-final of the season last week in Monte-Carlo, losing to eventual champion Rafael Nadal.