Benoit Paire overcomes Grigor Dimitrov in the first round – US Open 2012
French player, Benoit Paire, defeated Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in four sets 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2 in the opening round of the US Open at the Flushing Meadows on Wednesday.
The Frenchman needed two hours and 46 minutes to hand defeat to his rival in a close contest.
Paire and Dimitrov held their serve in the first two games to even out the score at 1-1. Both of them broke each other in the following four, taking the proceedings to 3-3. The next four games went with serves to equalise it at
5-5. Finally, Dimitrov made the breakthrough in the 11th and capitalised on that to triumph 7-5.
In the second set, Paire and Dimitrov did not lose their serve in the opening five games, taking the score to 3-2 in favour of the former. The Frenchman hit a blow to the Bulgarian contender in the sixth and consolidated on it
to build a 5-3 advantage. Paire did not allow Dimitrov to pull it back, sealing it 6-3.
First four games of the third set went with serves and the score was tied at 2-2. Paire snatched a break in the fifth and capitalised on it to go up 4-2. Dimitrov came back, capturing two games in a row to square it off at 4-4.
There was no break of serve in the remaining part of the set, equalising the score at 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Paire captured an early mini-break and made the most of it to win 7-6(4).
The Frenchman and his Bulgarian rival went neck to neck in the opening four games to level the score at 2-2. It was an all Paire show afterwards, as he secured four successively to grab it 6-2.
Paire banged in 12 aces and committed six double faults in the match. In comparison, Dimitrov was himself to blame, as he hit just a couple of aces and made nine horrible double faults. The Bulgarian could not save six of the 17
break threats he came across.
The French contestant will take on Germany’s 19th seed, Philipp Kohlschreiber, in the second round.
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