Grigor Dimitrov’s affinity for Brisbane is only growing after successfully winning his first singles match back over Pablo Carreno Busta since a horror pectoral muscle tear at Wimbledon six months ago.
Now unseeded, the 34-year-old showed ample glimpses of the Dimitrov of old as he swept past the former top-10 Spaniard 6-3 6-2 at the Brisbane International on Tuesday night.
It was his first singles match back since the pectoral injury he suffered while leading eventual champion Jannik Sinner two sets to love at the All England Club last July.
“Oh wonderful, you know, starting the year here is always very special for me,” Dimitrov said. “I think it’s been a bit of a rough road but I’m just grateful. These months have been very, very difficult in terms of preparation and mentality, you know, my body.”
“Just so much that I had to go through, but just to be able to compete again today, it’s already a success. Of course, winning is just an added bonus right now. Again, I’m feeling good, I was feeling well on the court so little by little let’s see how we go.”
The victory, which included 26 winners and just 10 unforced errors, improved the two-time Brisbane champion’s record to 5-3 against the experienced qualifier, who was looking to snap a 13-match losing streak against top-50 opponents.
It also extended the Bulgarian’s record for most match wins at the Brisbane International to 27 from 10 visits and set a clash against Belgian qualifier Raphael Collignon, who earlier upset Canadian fifth seed Denis Shapovalov 6-4 6-2.
“I think with each year that’s passing by I’m feeling more and more humble by the support I get all around the world,” he said. “Starting here every year has proven to be a very good omen for me and I always feel fantastic here even if I’m not feeling too well.”
Shapovalov was one of two top-eight seeds to tumble on Tuesday after second seed Alejandro Davidvich Fokina lost to Bradon Nakashima.
Rybakina, Sabalenka, Keys hit the ground running in openers
Elena Rybakina ensured a strong finish to the day for the leading women’s contenders with seven of eight seeds in action advancing to the third round, including reigning champion Aryna Sabalenka and last year’s Australian Open winner Madison Keys.
Third seed Rybakina, the Brisbane champion two years ago, held off a late challenge from experienced Chinese player Zhang Shuai 6-3 7-5 under the lights at Pat Rafter Arena.
It marked her sixth straight win, having picked up where she left off last season when she went unbeaten at the WTA Finals.
“She was stepping in, trying to play aggressive and I did a couple of unforced errors, double faults, so it was not easy especially in the second set, but I’m happy that I managed to turn it around and was focused on each point,” Rybakina said. “My serve sometimes helped me also, so yeah, pretty happy with the win.
“Definitely very happy that I found my form in the end of last season, so I’m hoping to bring everything that I did in the past season, what worked, to this one and hopefully I can go as far as I can each Slam, maybe win one of them, we’ll see. Definitely I have big goals.”
World No.1 Sabalenka fired an early warning to her prospective rivals – even if it was not her overriding intention – when she blitzed Cristina Bucsa for the loss of just one game in her first match of 2026 at the Brisbane International.
No.5 Keys, No.7 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova, No.11 seed Karolina Muchova and No.12 seed Diana Shnaider also advanced but Sorana Cirstea denied 14th seed Jelena Ostapenko.
The defending champion, Sabalenka, thumped 23 winners – more than triple her opponent’s count – to just seven unforced errors in a polished start to her fourth campaign at the Queensland Tennis Centre.
Spain’s Bucsa had no answer to her relentless opponent, who had previously beaten her in the fourth round en route to the US Open crown last September.
The world No.50 drew a huge ovation when she narrowly avoided the double bagel before Sabalenka served it out a game later with her fourth ace 6-0 6-1.
“Wasn't focusing on warning anyone for the season, I was just too focused on things that I have been working on during the preseason,” Sabalenka grinned. “I was just trying to show my level.
“I did it well, and if someone got scared because of that, I'll be happy to see players giving up, but that's not going to happen, unfortunately.”
Sabalenka moved on to face Romanian Cirstea after just 47 minutes.
After starting her campaign with a doubles win alongside good friend Paula Badosa on Sunday, there were few signs of rust in either outing.
“I think because throughout the year I learned how to be ready for whatever happens on court, so whenever I go out there, I'm ready to compete,” she said. “I'm ready for [when] things are not going well, and I'm ready to bring the fight. So I think that's kind of mentality helps me to bring this kind of level.
“I mean, I was surprised with my serve-and-volley points. I was practising, I was working on that, but I wasn't sure if it's gonna, you know, go my way on the match, but I'm happy that I was able to practise that on the match.
“I mean, I worked really hard, so I wasn't really surprised with the level.”
Earlier, Keys landed her first win on Australian soil since she became a major champion at Melbourne Park last January with a 6-4 6-3 win over compatriot McCartney Kessler.
The fifth seed admitted she was nervous and took time to find her range, “to knock off a bit of the rust”, before the winners began to flow.
With that Australian Open trophy in the bag, the American hoped to push herself beyond her comfort zone in 2026.
“Yeah, I think that I have really been trying to focus on trying to get to the net a little bit more, and I think my biggest goal, not only for here but really just for the entire year, is to do the things that kind of make me uncomfortable on the court,” Keys said.
“I think sometimes, especially if I get nervous or it's in tight moments, I kind of fall back on being a little bit more comfortable, which I think sometimes actually gets me in trouble. So I think continuing to try to do the things that I have been working on in practice, in matches, in the big moments, is probably my biggest goal of the year.”
Kovacevic smothers Kyrgios comeback bid
Nick Kyrgios has vowed to use his straight-sets defeat to American Aleksandar Kovacevic in his Brisbane International singles comeback as a building block for the rest of the season.
In his first singles outing since March last year, the 30-year-old succumbed to the world No.58 6-3 6-4 at Pat Rafter Arena and while the result did not fall his way, the Australian savoured his time on court before a packed house at home.
It was a feeling he would soak up again when he and good mate Thanasi Kokkinakis returned for their second-round doubles match at Pat Rafter Arena on Wednesday.
“This is a steppingstone. I actually just spoke to Medvedev in the locker room, and he's like, ‘look, you play one match every now and then, it's not going to be the way you want it all the time’,” Kyrgios said. “As long as, you know, I feel good and I'm going to be able to try and use it as a building block, that's my goal obviously, and not just AO but this year, for whatever this year holds, I do want to continue to play as much as I can, and we'll see.”
Kovacevic, who reached his first two tour finals last year in Montpellier and Los Cabos, advanced to face either seventh seed Cameron Norrie or Frenchman Ugo Humbert.
In his Brisbane main draw debut, the 27-year-old admitted he was uncertain what Kyrgios would bring.
“It was a tough one to approach, you don't always know what you're gonna get with Nick,” Kovacevic said. “It's tough to scout him recently because he hasn't been on tour for a while or playing serious matches. I didn't know what to expect, I just knew I had to be pretty locked in. To be honest, I was expecting a little more than that in terms of adversity.”
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