Grigor Dimitrov
IN PHOTO: Tennis - Aegon Championships - Queens Club, London - 16/6/15 Men's Singles - Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov celebrates winning his first round match Action Images via Reuters / Tony O'Brien Livepic Reuters / Tony O'Brien

Sixth-seeded Grigor Dimitrov eased past the first round of the 2015 Aegon Championships at Queen’s Club in London. Dimitrov will play against 53rd-ranked Gilles Muller in his bid to defend his title in the tournament.

Dimitrov has booked his spot in the second round after beating Sam Querrey, 4-6 6-3 6-4 to extend his head-to-head series with the unseeded American on Monday. The match was only the second time that Dimitrov had played Querrey on professional tour. Their first meeting came in Washington in 2013, which the Bulgarian also won.

He fought back after falling in the first set, reeling off five games to force a decider before the match was suspended due to poor lighting. When the match resumed on Tuesday, Dimitrov was in the brink of losing when Querrey took a 3-1 lead. Out of the blue, Dimitrov started hitting winners and deflected Querrey’s break point opportunities, eventually serving out the match to seal his victory.

The second round match will be a repeat of Dimitrov and Muller’s only previous meeting at Queen’s back in 2012. Dimitrov won the match in straight sets, 7-6 6-4. The pair’s most recent match came at Rotterdam this season when the Luxembourger took revenge and dispatched Dimitrov also in straight sets, 6-2 7-6. Their head-to-head series is tied at 1-1.

Dimitrov has a 62.2 winning percentage on grass. The Bulgarian, who currently ranks 11th in the world, has a 23-14 win-loss record on grass surface. Muller, on the other hand, has a winning percentage of 42.1 and has 16-22 record. Dimitrov is the heavy favourite to win the match. His win-loss record this season is 19-11 compared to Muller’s 22-13.

If Dimitrov survives Muller, he will face either three-time champion Andy Murray or Fernando Verdasco in the last eight. Four players have already clinched their spots in the quarters, namely, third seed Milos Raonic, seventh seed Gilles Simon, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, and Kevin Anderson. Simon beat Australian wild card Thanasi Kokkinakis ,6-4 6-2 while Raonic, Garcia-Lopez, and Anderson defeated Richard Gasquet, 6-4 6-7 6-1, Alexandr Dolgopolo,v 6-3 7-6, and Stan Wawrinka, 7-6 7-6, respectively.

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