Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov may go all the way in this most open of men’s tournaments but he will be in need of a stiff practice workout later today, such was his whirlwind 69-minute stroll against Germany’s Dustin Brown.
It wasn’t that the No.10 seed was in overly imperious form during his 6-2 6-3 6-2 victory before a full house on a sunny Show Court 2, merely that his opponent seemed hell-bent on handing him the match from the off.
Brown, now in his 31st year, is yet to win a match at Melbourne Park yet sits at No.90 in the world rankings courtesy of a game that, on its day, patently has the potential to blow away many a higher-ranked opponent.
Should all elements of his rangy, athleticism gel at once – as they did in his conquest of Lleyton Hewitt at Wimbledon two years ago – the dreadlocked Brown is a formidable opponent and a genuine joy to watch.
Here, he chose a carefree, aggressive approach that repeatedly failed to hit the mark, yet did not deter him from numerous drop shots that fell on the near side of the net or missile-like forehands that landed long time and again.
Indeed, what battle there was, was waged almost solely from the baseline, neither man keen to approach the net, let alone take stand there and take command.
To be fair to Dimitrov, there was simply no need. Coached by Australia’s Roger Rasheed, the Bulgarian sat back and lapped it up, his first shot of note a sublime backhand down the line to clinch the first set after 23 minutes.
Still Brown was undeterred and still Dimitrov, quite understandably, sat back and took the points without breaking sweat: 6-2 and just 20 minutes for the final set.
Either Slovakia’s Lukas Lacko or Maximo Gonzalez from Argentina are up next for Dimitrov, who will likely be eyeing Andy Murray a week today as his first full-on test of the tournament.
It was something he just didn’t get from Brown.