Tuesday 14 November 2017 15:40, UK
Grigor Dimitrov marked his first appearance at the ATP Finals with a battling three-set victory over fellow debutant Dominic Thiem at The O2 on Monday.
The 26-year-old Bulgarian, who has claimed three titles this season, comes into the season finale as the world No 6 on the back of his most consistent campaign of his career.
Dimitrov opened his charge in London with a determined 6-3 5-7 7-5 win over his Austrian counterpart, who is ranked two places higher in the rankings.
Dimitrov, the Cincinnati Masters champion, suffered a last-16 exit in his previous tournament appearance at the Paris Masters but showed no signs of early nerves in a hard-hitting encounter.
Meanwhile, Thiem arrived at the season-ending tournament lacking in confidence after a disappointing second half of the season, including early exits on his past four tournament appearances.
Both players began the encounter hitting the ball crisply from the baseline but Thiem was the first to be broken in the sixth game of the match and Dimitrov maintained the advantage to close out the opening set without facing a single break point.
Thiem grew in confidence as the match progressed into the second set and thanks to a higher percentage of first serves put the pressure on Dimitrov's shoulders, who was broken in the 12th game of the second set to force the decider.
The final set continued to see both players produce some high-quality tennis and the 24-year-old Austrian was forced to save two break points to move 3-2 ahead.
However, he was unable to repeat the feat on his next service game as a deft drop volley secured the break for Dimitrov, who was broken when he served when he served for the match but Dimitrov immediately retrieved the break of serve and at the second opportunity eventually closed out the match.
"I am not going to lie, I was pretty nervous - it was my first match out here," Dimitrov said during his courtside interview with Annabel Croft. "I am just very grateful to win that match, especially in that manner. Entering into this tournament was a dream of mine and it wasn't just to compete - I want to win. Things seem to be going the right way so far."
Thiem will need to pick up a win against Pablo Carreno Busta, who comes in for the injured Rafael Nadal, while a victory for Dimitrov against David Goffin would virtually put him in the semi-finals.
The season-ending extravaganza ATP Finals at London's O2 in November ends another memorable year which will be covered via our website www.skysports.com/tennis with live blogs and updates as the season reaches its climax.
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