site.btaGrigor Dimitrov Overcomes Mackenzie McDonald at Beijing Tennis Tournament

Bulgaria's top tennis player Grigor Dimitrov snatched victory from the jaws of defeat in the first round of the USD 3.8 million hard court tournament in the Chinese capital Beijing on Friday.

Dimitrov defeated wild-card entrant Mackenzie McDonald (USA) 2:6, 7:6(4) and 6:1 in 2:02 hours of play.

McDonald started very strong and led 4:0 on his way to success in the first set and got a 5:1 lead in the second. Faced with defeat, the 32-year-old Bulgaria stabilized his performance and taking advantage of the drop in his opponent's game, he managed to return the two breaks and with a run of five consecutive games for 6:5. The American took his serve and went into a tiebreak, leading 3-1, but Dimitrov took six of the next seven games for a twist ending of the set.

Dimitrov started with a break in the third, after which McDonald called a physiotherapist on court because of a shoulder problem. In the end, the match went on and the Bulgarian cruised to victory 6-1.

The Bulgarian earned 45 points and USD 53,145, and will play the winner of the match between No. 3 Holger Rune (Denmark) and Felix Auger Aliassime (Canada) in the second round.