From our mixed zone correspondent – The Rome public supported Grigor Dimitrov from the first to the last exchange. The Bulgarian greatly appreciated the warmth and affection of the numerous spectators present today at the Foro Italico – in his case on Field 12 – and he defeated Yoshihito Nishioka with the score 7-5, 6-4 in an hour and 37 minutes of play.
In the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia there will be no one-handed backhand battle Lorenzo Musettibecause the blue retired at the beginning of the second set with Terence Atmane for an intestinal virus.
Grigor Dimitrov: “I love the Italian public. Jannik Sinner injury? It’s difficult”
“It was a difficult match, I could have done better. But it’s the first time I’ve played on this pitch and in these conditions.
I’m happy to have finished in two sets, but I can do better from a game point of view. Now I have a free day to try some things in training. Rome? I love the audience, I can feel their energy. It’s like being at home, even today they supported me.
I love playing here even though I haven’t had my best results. I know that if I do things well, I can have my opportunities,” Dimitrov said before describing the feeling a tennis player gets when he finds Rafael Nadal on the other side of the net on clay.
“It’s not fun. How can I explain it, you don’t feel comfortable when you face him on clay. It’s difficult in general for a one-handed backhand player to play against him on clay. The direction of the ball is different, you have to move more.” .
On the injuries suffered by Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, the 32-year-old explained: “We have to win to play many matches. I think that extending some tournaments is not the easiest thing for our body to sustain.
Even if we have a day off, we still need to use it to train and prepare. It doesn’t matter how strong you are mentally or physically. There are many factors I could talk about, it’s difficult. We’ve had a lot of retirements in the last few tournaments. Tennis is hard and is becoming more and more challenging.”
