Grigor Dimitrov had little problem in beating Ryan Harrison in the first round at Wimbledon. Photograph: Max Rossi/Reuters
Grigor Dimitrov does not like his nicknames 'Primetime' and 'BabyFed', but the Bulgarian produced a few examples of why they were given to him as he cruised into the second round here on Monday. The winner of the Aegon Championships at Queen's Club and the No 11 seed here survived a tight first set and then pulled away, turning on the style to record a 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Ryan Harrison.
Ever since he won junior Wimbledon in 2008, the same year Laura Robson lifted the girls' title, Dimitrov has been tipped for stardom, not least because of the similarities in his style to Roger Federer. The 23-year-old is finally making a name for himself and once he had forged a two-sets lead against world No 140 the shackles came off and he produced a couple of between-the-legs shots and flicks that left the American floundering.
The 22-year-old, who qualified for the main draw, has struggled since reaching the top 50 two years ago, matched Dimitrov on serve in the opening set but once the Bulgarian had taken the tiebreak 7-1, he opened up. An early break in the second set ended Harrison's resistance and he cruised through the third, wrapping up victory with a brilliant angled volley.
For all his undoubted talent, Dimitrov's quarter-final run at the Australian Open in January remains his best grand slam effort to date. He has never been beyond round two here, but with a match to come against either Australian Luke Saville or young Austrian Dominic Thiem, he will be heavily fancied to reach round three for the first time.
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