Grigor Dimitrov Wins Paris Masters Debut at La Defense Arena

Last Updated:October 28, 2025, 12:29 IST

Grigor Dimitrov triumphed over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Paris Masters debut in La Defense Arena.

Grigor Dimitrov (@RolexPMasters)

Grigor Dimitrov returned to the court on Monday at the Paris Masters, defeating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 in the first round as the tournament debuted at its new venue, La Defense Arena.

Previously held for nearly 40 years at Paris’ Bercy Arena, the event has moved to the expansive multi-purpose arena across the city. Opened in 2017, La Defense Arena is primarily known as the home ground of French Top 14 rugby club Racing 92 and hosted the swimming events at last year’s Olympics. It also accommodates concerts and political rallies.

As a tennis venue, La Defense Arena now features the second largest showpiece court on the global tennis circuit, surpassed only by the US Open’s Arthur Ashe Stadium.

The arena witnessed a triumphant return for former world number three Dimitrov, who played his first match since retiring injured from his fourth-round match at Wimbledon in July, leading two sets to love against eventual champion Jannik Sinner.

“Winning or losing this match today would have been a win for me, I’m just so happy to be able to compete again," said 34-year-old Dimitrov on-court. “I had to be extremely patient with myself… clearly I’m playing against such an amazing player but I’m just grateful to win."

Dimitrov managed to overcome strong home support during the night session, grinding out the first set on a tie-break against big-serving Frenchman Mpetshi Perricard. Buoyed by his lead, the Bulgarian quickly secured the first break of the match in the opening game of the second set, smoothly progressing to the round of 32. There, he will face either former Russian world number one Daniil Medvedev or Spain’s Jaume Munar, who play on Tuesday.

Earlier, Russian 12th seed Andrey Rublev secured a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Britain’s Jacob Fearnley. Rublev cruised through the first set before breaking Fearnley’s serve at 4-5 to advance to the second round.

“Jacob didn’t feel the serve in the first set, which helped me a bit," Rublev commented. “He played well in the second and I’m happy to have won."

The event opened with two hard-fought wins for French wildcards. Arthur Cazaux inaugurated the new 17,500-capacity centre court with a 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4) win over Italy’s Luciano Darderi. Shanghai Masters runner-up Arthur Rinderknech followed, delighting local fans with a victory by the same score against Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan.

Rising Italian prospect Flavio Cobolli achieved a 6-1, 6-4 win over Czech Tomas Machac, while Kazakh 13th seed Alexander Bublik defeated Australia’s Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-3. Tenth seed Karen Khachanov of Russia rounded off the day’s play, easing past American qualifier Ethan Quinn with a 6-1, 6-1 victory.

World number one Carlos Alcaraz will begin his campaign in the second round on Tuesday when he faces Britain’s Cameron Norrie, who earlier defeated Argentina’s Sebastian Baez in straight sets.

(With AFP Inputs)

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