{"id":93020,"date":"2025-10-28T02:07:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-28T06:07:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=93020"},"modified":"2025-10-28T02:52:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T06:52:54","slug":"34-and-fighting-grigor-dimitrov-begins-tough-comeback-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/10\/28\/34-and-fighting-grigor-dimitrov-begins-tough-comeback-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"34 and Fighting: Grigor Dimitrov Begins Tough Comeback in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The headline player of Day 1 at the ATP Paris Masters 1000 was Bulgaria&#8217;s Grigor Dimitrov. The 34-year-old displayed his artistry and skill against home French player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, cruising to a 7-6(1) 6-1 victory over the Frenchman, who relies heavily on a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2024\/11\/04\/giovanni-mpetshi-perricard-is-redefining-what-it-means-to-be-a-big-server\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">powerful serve<\/a> but has little else to his game. Dimitrov&#8217;s performance was crisp overall and there were no immediate signs of warning.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Mpetshi Perricard vs Dimitrov R1 highlights | Rolex Paris Masters\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/K7u6lILh_hU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>From Wimbledon Heartbreak to Smiles in Paris<\/h2>\n<p>Dimitrov&#8217;s last outing was one of the most heartbreaking of his career. Leading Grand Slam champion Jannik Sinner by two sets and 2-2 in the third, he <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/07\/07\/grigor-dimitrov-defined-again-in-defeat\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">tore his pectoral muscle<\/a>. Sinner went on to win Wimbledon, while <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/07\/29\/grigor-dimitrov-to-miss-us-open-ending-record-grand-slam-streak\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Dimitrov missed half the season<\/a>, finishing 2025 with his fewest matches played in fourteen years. He had developed a streak of bad luck, <a href=\"https:\/\/tennistonic.com\/tennis-news\/888039\/unlucky-grigor-dimitrov-retires-from-5-consecutive-grand-slam-tournaments\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">retiring from five consecutive<\/a> Grand Slam matches in 2024\/25 due to different physical ailments.<\/p>\n<p>At 34, the former World #3, ATP Finals and Masters champion, and three-time Grand Slam semifinalist could have retired, but he chose to rehabilitate and return in Paris. Often seen as the leader of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tenniscanada.com\/news\/pro-tennis\/2024\/grigor-dimitrov-lost-generation\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ATP&#8217;s &#8220;lost generation<\/a>,&#8221; Dimitrov was a promising junior who never fully broke into the elite against the big three\u2014Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.<\/p>\n<p>His return in Paris demonstrates persistence and a late-career resurgence. He will face the winner of the in-form <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/08\/30\/jaume-munar-us-open-run\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Jaume Munar<\/a> or the resurgent <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/10\/20\/daniil-medvedev-revival-from-us-open-collapse-to-almaty-champion\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Daniil Medvedev<\/a> in round two\u2014a challenging test.<\/p>\n<p>In ATP Paris doubles, Dimitrov will team up with the retiring <a href=\"https:\/\/www.msn.com\/en-us\/sports\/tennis\/dimitrov-doubles-with-mahut-its-a-happy-ending-for-him\/ar-AA1PghvN\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Frenchman Nicolas Mahut<\/a>, marking a <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2025\/10\/28\/nicolas-mahut-to-play-final-match-at-the-paris-masters\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">memorable farewell for Mahut<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Results of 2024 and 2025 Show Dimitrov Still Has a Lot to Play For<\/h3>\n<p>Dimitrov has aged well performance-wise. In 2024, he went 49-19, reaching the Miami Masters final and three other tournament finals\u2014his best season since 2017. In 2025, he reached semifinals in Brisbane and Miami, quarterfinals in Monte Carlo, and made a deep run at Wimbledon before injury, showing dark horse potential with his graceful shotmaking.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Grigor Dimitrov GOD MODE vs Carlos Alcaraz! | Miami 2024 Highlights\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8sURU9bssQc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>His rapid recovery within the same season allows him to defend ranking points in Brisbane and remain in the ATP top 50. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/boccardi_marioo\/status\/1982896929802727469\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dimitrov has a strong Paris record<\/a>, trailing only Tomas Berdych, Boris Becker, and Novak Djokovic in wins at the tournament.<\/p>\n<p>Indoor conditions and his past performances in Paris made it an ideal return venue. He may be the underdog if he&#8217;s against Medvedev in round two, but he is never to be counted out.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.atptour.com\/en\/news\/dimitrov-paris-2025-feature\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dimitrov told the ATP Tour<\/a> this week: <em>&#8220;I&#8217;m trying to get as many hours as possible on the court because this is what I&#8217;ve craved. At the same time, I&#8217;m keeping things at the most basic level. Of course, my goal is to come back at full force next year, but for now, it&#8217;s a challenge to see how the body responds.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Given his performance and resilience, it wouldn\u2019t be a shock to see Dimitrov lift another ATP trophy in 2026, proving that grit and determination can still define a career at 34. Dimitrov is clearly a player that wants to compete every week.<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit:\u00a0Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The headline player of Day 1 at the ATP Paris Masters 1000 was Bulgaria&#8217;s Grigor Dimitrov. The 34-year-old displayed his artistry and skill against home French player Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, cruising to a 7-6(1) 6-1 victory over the Frenchman, who relies heavily on a powerful serve but has little else to his game. Dimitrov&#8217;s performance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1442,"featured_media":60905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2,9],"tags":[13109,259,714,18755,411],"class_list":["post-93020","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atp","category-featured","category-news","tag-atp-paris","tag-atp-tour","tag-bulgarian-tennis","tag-giovanni-mpetshi-perricard","tag-grigor-dimitrov"],"modified_by":"Steen Kirby","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93020","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1442"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93020"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93020\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":93027,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93020\/revisions\/93027"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93020"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93020"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93020"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}