Paris Masters moves out of Bercy after 40 years: Actions shifts to La Defense Arena - tennis' second-largest show court

Grigor Dimitrov marked his return to tennis with a 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round of the Paris Masters on Monday, as the tournament debuted at its new venue, La Defense Arena, after nearly 40 years at Bercy Arena.The event's new home, opened in 2017, is primarily known for hosting French Top 14 rugby club Racing 92 and the 2024 Olympic swimming events. The arena now features the second-largest showcase court in global tennis, surpassed only by the US Open's Arthur Ashe Stadium.Dimitrov, the former world number three, played his first match since retiring injured from his Wimbledon fourth-round match against eventual champion Jannik Sinner in July."Winning or losing this match today would have been a win for me, I'm just so happy to be able to compete again," Dimitrov said 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)."The 34-year-old Bulgarian overcame strong home support during the night session, winning the first set in a tie-break before securing the first break of the match in the second set's opening game.

Dimitrov will face either former Russian world number one Daniil Medvedev or Spain's Jaume Munar in the round of 32.Russian 12th seed Andrey Rublev advanced with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Britain's Jacob Fearnley."Jacob didn't feel the serve in the first set, which helped me a bit," Rublev said. "He played well in the second and I'm happy to have won."French wildcards enjoyed success on the opening day. Arthur Cazaux inaugurated the 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 with an identical score victory against Hungary's Fabian Marozsan.Italian Flavio Cobolli secured a 6-1, 6-4 win over Czech Tomas Machac.Kazakh 13th seed Alexander Bublik defeated Australia's Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 6-3.Russian tenth seed Karen Khachanov concluded the day's play with a commanding 6-1, 6-1 win over American qualifier Ethan Quinn.World number one Carlos Alcaraz will begin his campaign on Tuesday against Britain's Cameron Norrie, who defeated Argentinian Sebastian Baez in straight sets.