NEW YORK (AP) – Two months after walking slightly while ill with COVID-19, Grigor Dimitrov played a professional tennis training at the Western and South Open on Sunday and, the result was not the most important thing, he won.
“I thought, “I’ll try.” Now I’m betting well,” said Dimitrov, a 29-year-old Bulgarian who was a semi-finalist at the US Open last year and ranked 19th. I’m purely grateful to be here, to participate. Forget the setting, I’m not even talking about tennis right now.”
He said he had arrived in New York, the Western and South Open and the U.S. Open, a little one day and a part before taking the court for what turned out to be a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Ugo Humbert.
The women’s draw allowed big names to come out at the time of the tournament in hard form: No. 1 seed Karolina Pliskova, No. 2 Sofia Kenin and 2017 US Open champion Sloane Stephens. Pliskova, a 2016 U.S.Open finalist who will be the most sensible seed when the Grand Slam tournament begins on 31 August, lost 7-5, 6-4 to Veronika Kudermetova; Kenin, who won the Australian Open this year, disappointed via Alize Cornet 6-1, 7-6 (7); Stephens eliminated through Caroline Garcia 6-3, 7-6 (4).
Dimitrov tested positive for coronavirus in June while participating in a series of exhibitions in Croatia and Serbia organized through Novak Djokovic, who also had COVID-19. (Djokovic withdrew from the doubles at the Western and South Open on Sunday, prompting neck pain, but is still scheduled to compete in singles on Monday).
“The first week was simply tragic. I started walking. I couldn’t really work out. I couldn’t lift any weight. He couldn’t play tennis,” Dimitrov said, adding that he had lost a lot of weight from his illness.
“It was a dark time,” he said. “I’m not going to lie.”
Finally, Dimitrov said, trained for 20 minutes at a time, then higher in increments. However, he doubted his return to travel at the Western-Southern Open, the first ATP tournament since tennis was interrupted in March due to the pandemic.
Dimitrov said he hoped his delight in coronavirus could serve as an uplifting story for those who don’t take the disease seriously.
“I was just looking to show a message that it doesn’t matter, in a sense, “who you are, “what compatibility you have and how healthy you eat, etc.,” Dimitrov said. “This thing doesn’t ask (these things). We’re all the same.”
Two leading men came out here: No. 10 Andrey Rublev, defeated 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 through Daniel Evans; and No. thirteen Cristian Garin, losing 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-0 to Aljaz Bedene.
The male winners included No. 11 seed Karen Khachanov, whose 6-four, 6-four victory began with her opponent, Alexander Bublik, looking at a serve from below; Number four Stefanos Tsitsipas, number 7 David Goffin, number nine Diego Schwartzman, number 16 John Isner and American qualifier Marcos Giron, who beat Mackenzie McDonald 7-6 (2), 7-5 in a showdown between former UCLA college players and next face-protective champion Daniil Mveeddev.
Other women who have made progress are the 12th Anett Kontaveit, the 14th Elise Mertens, american sorter CiCi Bellis and Jessica Pegula, winner 7-6 (5), 6-4 over Jennifer Brady, who earned her first WTA name last week in Lexington. Kentucky.
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