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“Excellent, excellent, excellent,” said Grigor Dimitrov after his 6-3, 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4 victor over No.16 seed Gilles Simon.
“I mean, I didn't expect anything less from me today. I came out on the court and I played a very solid two sets. Third one I was not hitting the ball as well, I did a few unforced errors, but, you know, back at the fourth, I felt very comfortable.”
The Bulgarian certainly looked comfortable, particularly given the problems the Frenchman has given him in the past. But for his third-set lapse in concentration, the 25-year-old looked to be in control of the No.1 Court contest, playing with a verve reminiscent of his semi-final run here in 2014.
Simon came into the match with wins in five of his six matches with Dimitrov, whose ranking has slipped to No.37 in the world, including two wins on grass and victory in their most recent encounter, in Monte Carlo earlier this year.
But the 31-year-old – one of an Open-era record 49 players over 30 in the gentlemen’s singles draw – was overrun by Dimitrov in the opening set, and again in the second-set tie-break after staying with the 25-year-old, who was particularly impressive when attacking behind his first serve.
That pattern changed early in the third as errors began trickling into Dimitrov’s game. As the Bulgarian eased off to find his range, Simon began dictating play and refused to miss, making just three unforced errors in the set.
When the Frenchman snatched a break early in the fourth set it looked as if the match might slip away from Dimitrov.
But the Bulgarian, playing without a coach at The Championships, recognised the danger and ramped up the aggression, drawing a string of uncharacteristic errors from the Frenchman in the process to win four straight games for victory in three hours and one minute.
“I was actually up 1‑0 [in the third set] and I had break point, and I think that break point cost me a little bit,” Dimitrov said of the lapse. “I didn't think about it, but I knew he was going to change his game a little bit, and the problem is I fell into that trap.
“I was just following his game for a set – set and a little bit. I think that didn't help me at all. I started taking the wrong decisions and I was not following my game plan. I was not going after my shots enough.
“Then I knew that as soon as the third set was over, ‘Ok, you can't do that again’, and I tried to correct myself.”
On the day 18 seeds fell in the singles draws – seven in the men’s singles, one at his expense – Dimitrov might conisder himself unlucky to be playing one of the in-form unseeded players in the third round in Nottingham champion Steve Johnson.
But Dimitrov is focused on himself right now, his opponent and his history here secondary to his game.
“With each match you get more and more confident,” he said. “You start to feel the grass more, your movement more, your shots, your routine. Everything becomes very natural. You get in a good rhythm. So that gives you that calmness when you come out on the court.
“But for me, I mean, honestly I'm trying not to think so much about what happened two years ago, because if I just keep playing on that, ‘oh, I had unbelievable Wimbledon two years ago, I will never be able to do better’.
“In a way, I just don't want to live in the past. I take all the good moments and the good experience, yes, indeed I do. But if I want to get even further, there is just obviously a long way to go.”
