DAILY MIX: Dimitrov, Thiem overcome early hurdles in Monte Carlo

MONACO (AP) — Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem both had to come from a set down to win their second-round matches at the Monte Carlo Masters on Tuesday.

The fourth-seeded Dimitrov rallied to beat Pierre-Hugues Herbert 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, while the fifth-seeded Thiem saved a match point in his 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 win against Andrey Rublev of Russia.

Dimitrov looked out of sorts in the first set, dropping his serve twice against the 82nd-ranked Herbert.

"I was just a little bit rusty, I haven't played a match for almost three weeks," Dimitrov said. "All I (could) do was just fight and win. How doesn't really matter."

Earlier, Thiem saved a match point when Rublev served at 5-4, 40-30 but hit a forehand narrowly wide.

"I was 10 centimeters from being out of the tournament," a relieved Thiem said. "But I'm happy that I played two hours and 40 (minutes)."

Thiem has reached the French Open semifinals for the past two years. He next meets 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic or Borna Coric of Croatia, who play their second-round match on Wednesday.

"I'm looking forward to watching Djokovic and Coric in front of the TV, and then playing the winner on Thursday," Thiem said.

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