Dimitrov sneaks out Bastad opener

By Sports Network

The Sports Network

Talented Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov was a hard-fought first-round winner Monday at the clay court Swedish Open.

The fifth seed came from behind to beat Swedish wild card Elias Ymer 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 at Bastad Tennis Stadium.

The 22-year-old Dimitrov is currently dating former world No. 1 women's star Maria Sharapova.

Also on Day 1, Carlos Berlocq upended seventh-seeded fellow Argentine Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-3 and Argentina's Martin Alund outlasted another Swedish wild card, Markus Eriksson, 7-5, 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (10-8).

This week's top seeds are former Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych and Nicolas Almagro, who was last year's Bastad runner-up to fellow Spaniard David Ferrer. Almagro titled here in 2010 and was also a runner-up in 2007. The big Czech Berdych was a Bastad finalist in 2005 and 2008 and will face Alund in the second round here.

The winner of this $560,000 event will collect $100,000.

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