Tomás Etcheverry made a solid start in Monte Carlo v Dimitrov | OneFootball

With a high-level performance, Tomás Etcheverry (ATP No. 30) took the first big step at the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 by defeating Grigor Dimitrov (No. 93) 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 in nearly two hours of play. The Argentine enjoyed a great debut, and in addition to knocking out the former world No. 3, he also pushed him out of the Top 100 for the first time in 14 years.

It was a back-and-forth display of quality tennis between the Argentine and the Bulgarian on the Des Princes court at the Monaco venue, where both players traded blows to take the match to a deciding set. However, the 35 unforced errors by the player from Haskovo proved decisive, allowing the man from La Plata to take control of the scoreboard and build the lead he needed to advance.

In this way, he continues to fulfill the mission he has carried out since his first appearance in 2023: winning his opener. It is already the fourth first-round victory Etcheverry has earned at the first Masters 1000 event of the clay-court swing, and his first against a former world No. 3. The only previous meeting between them had ended in a Dimitrov win at the 2024 Paris Masters 1000.

The recent Rio ATP 500 champion now owns a 16-7 record this season, further strengthening his strong form heading into one of his favorite stretches of the year, at least statistically.

For his part, while flashes of his fine game can still be seen, the reality is that Dimitrov is not going through his best moment, having managed just two wins so far this year (1R at Indian Wells and Brisbane) along with a total of seven losses. That hurts him more than expected, because as a result, the David Nalbandian pupil drops out of the Top 100 for the first time in 14 years. Red numbers for someone still trying to keep the flame of beautiful tennis alive.

In the second round, the Argentine will face Terence Atmane (No. 45), who beat Ethan Quinn (No. 54) 6-1, 6-4. If he reaches the third round, that is when he could first run into a seeded player. On his side of the draw, none other than Carlos Alcaraz was eliminated, so he could end up facing the world No. 1 in the Principality.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.