Grigor Dimitrov did not let a last-minute switch in opponent throw him off his stride as he subdued Egyptian lucky loser Mohamed Safwat 6-1, 6-4, 7-6 (1) in the first round of the French Open on yesterday.
Safwat’s appearance in the Philippe Chatrier arena caught a lot of people by surprise, not least the organizers who were still promoting Dimitrov’s showdown against Serbia’s Viktor Troicki on the large screens around Roland Garros even as the players made their way on to the court.
However, with Troicki pulling out with a lower back injury, the bearded Safwat was suddenly given a platform to make his Grand Slam main draw debut at the age of 27, despite losing in the final round of qualifying.
Photo: AP
With little time to collect his thoughts on becoming the first Egyptian man to make it into the main draw of a major in 22 years, Safwat appeared to be suffering from a serious bout of stage fright as within 40 minutes the Bulgarian fourth seed had romped to a 6-1, 4-1 lead.
A medical time out taken by Safwat to treat blisters on his right hand gave him a chance to calm down his frayed nerves. The 182nd-ranked Egyptian skipped back to the baseline following the interlude and won back-to-back games for the first time in the contest by breaking Dimitrov.
The lotions applied by the trainer allowed Safwat to serve more confidently and he twice came within a game of taking the third set.
The challenge of toppling one of the top seeds was a task too far for a player who, before yesterday, had earned a grand total of US$352,674 prize money after 11 years as a professional.
A backhand ended Safwat’s French Open odyssey, but not before he banked the biggest paycheck of his career — a princely sum of 40,000 euros (US$46,626).
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