27th seed Grigor Dimitrov takes on Serbia’s Laslo Djere in the second round of the 2023 Australian Open on Wednesday.
The 31-year-old took part in the inaugural United Cup to begin the 2023 season. He lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in a slugfest but eased past David Goffin in straight sets. Dimitrov knows how to go deep in the Australian Open as he reached the semifinals in the 2017 edition of the tournament.
In the first round, Dimitrov got the better of Aslan Karatsev in straight sets 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-2. The Bulgarian veteran hit 15 aces in the match and was helped by 11 doubles faults that were committed by his opponent. Dimitrov had an impressive win percentage of 86 on the first serve. On the second serve, Dimitrov had a win percentage of 80.
The world No. 68 has already played a couple of tournaments this year. In the Maharashtra Open, Djere defeated Alex Molcan but lost to Maximilian Marterer in the round of 16. At the ASB Classic, Djere made it to the semis where he lost to Constant Lestienne.
In the Australian Open, Djere faced Zizou Bergs in the first round. After winning the first set, Djere was comprehensively defeated in the second set. Eventually, Djere won the match 6-4, 1-6, 6-4, 6-1. This is the first time the 27-year-old has managed to win a match at the Australian Open.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have never faced each other as yet.
Prediction: Grigor Dimitrov to win in four sets.
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