Everything Grigor Dimitrov said after stunning Paris Masters comeback from injury

Ewan West 27 Oct 2025 9:00 PM

Grigor Dimitrov in action

Grigor Dimitrov admitted he did not know what to expect from his comeback from injury after making a highly impressive winning return to action at the 2025 Paris Masters.

The world No 38 delivered a terrific display to claim a decisive 7-6(5), 6-1 victory against world No 56 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the first round of the Masters 1000 event.

Dimitrov had not played since July 7, when he was forced to retire in his fourth round Wimbledon match against Jannik Sinner after suffering a tear in his pectoral muscle. He had been leading 6-3, 7-5, 2-2 against Sinner, the eventual Wimbledon champion.

Grigor Dimitrov’s superb comeback from injury in Paris

Grigor Dimitrov revealed he is “still trying to wrap my head around” his time away from tennis after winning on his return in Paris
The Bulgarian spoke candidly about his pre-match expectations, and he also discussed playing at La Defense Arena, the new Paris Masters venue, for the first time
Dimitrov’s win saw him climb to fourth on the all-time Paris Masters win list, and he could face Daniil Medvedev in the second round

Against Mpetshi Perricard in Paris, Dimitrov converted his second set point to take a very tight opening set on a tiebreak after both players had saved two break points.

The 34-year-old then, remarkably, broke the massive-serving 22-year-old Frenchman three times in the second set as he surged to the finish line in dominant fashion.

What Dimitrov said after beating Mpetshi Perricard

Following his win, Dimitrov spoke to commentator Lee Goodall in an on-court interview with Tennis TV. Here is the conversation in full.

Q. Grigor… many, many congratulations. This must be a wonderful night for you. Such a long time away from the tour. What’s it like to be back, first of all? Welcome back!

Dimitrov: Yeah, thank you. Thank you guys. You know, never happened to me. So I think I’m still trying to wrap my head around the whole time away from the court. It was never, never easy. I knew that coming to competition is just gonna be a difficult task. But again, I just wanted to come out and test myself, give myself a chance. I think, winning or losing tonight, I still would have felt like I’ve given all I have. Of course, it’s very difficult to adjust, especially playing against a player like him, you have to be aware throughout the whole time and stay focused. It doesn’t matter how much experience you have, there’s always that added stress, especially after so many months away. But listen, it’s a good night. I’m taking it in and just going one day at a time at the moment.

Q. We don’t get to see what’s going on behind the scenes on the way to the comeback. What’s that been like? What kind of level were you expecting tonight? Was it a nice surprise? Not an easy first opponent, not much rhythm from that guy.

Dimitrov: No, definitely not. I didn’t know what to expect, if I have to be completely honest. All I knew is that I have to look on my side of the net and really control what I could. And that was my serve, the way I was reading the game and playing my shots. In the tiebreak, anything could have happened. I missed those two fairly easy forehands. I had to stay within myself, I knew I’m gonna get another chance. So all that again comes from the experience. But I really had, not much of an expectations for myself.

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Q. And lastly, what a place to come back to. Paris has been pretty good to you over the years. Runner-up here in the past. What was it like coming back to a tournament this size, this sort of stadium, this sort of love from the crowd?

Dimitrov: It’s wonderful to see, I think the space truly has changed and I think all the players can appreciate that. And on the crowd, it’s such an amazing crowd. And I think towards the end of the year, you really feel that energy and everyone looked like they love their sports, they love their tennis. And it’s been a very fair crowd and I love seeing that. And at the same time, I feel very appreciated, all around. So that gives me a great gratitude just to be back.

Who will Dimitrov play next?

Dimitrov will play either world No 13 Daniil Medvedev or 36th-ranked Jaume Munar in what promises to be an intriguing second round encounter.

The match is likely to be played on Wednesday after Medvedev and Munar play their opening round contest on Tuesday.

Dimitrov’s impressive record at the Paris Masters

Dimitrov’s triumph over Mpetshi Perricard was his 25th win at the Paris Masters, which has moved him to fourth outright for the most matches won at the indoor-hard court event.

The former world No 3 holds a 67.6% win rate (25-12) at the Paris ATP 1000, with his best result coming in 2023, when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the final.

Most match wins at the Paris Masters

1. Novak Djokovic – 50

2. Boris Becker – 29

3. Tomas Berdych – 27

4. Grigor Dimitrov – 25

=5. Marat Safin – 24

=5. Pete Sampras – 24

7. Roger Federer – 23

8. Rafael Nadal – 22