Denmark trails 0-1 after the first match of the Davis Cup tie against Bulgaria in Hillerod. In the opening match, Elmer Moller put up a valiant fight and won the first set but ultimately lost 7-6, 3-6, 4-6 to Grigor Dimitrov.
The tie against Bulgaria has attracted immense attention because Holger Rune is making his comeback after an 11-month injury layoff; however, Elmer Moller was the first to take the court against a former world-class player.
35-year-old Grigor Dimitrov once reached a career-high ranking of world number three, but has struggled with injuries in recent years and is currently ranked 128th in the world.
The Bulgarian’s game was disappointing at the start. After opening his first service game with two double faults, Elmer Moller—ranked 174th—took control of the rallies, which often ended with winners from the Dane or unforced errors off the Bulgarian's racket.
This resulted in a break of serve for the Dane, putting him up 3-1. Dimitrov raised his level, immediately breaking back to level the score. From that point on, it was a very tight set, with the crowd treated to glimpses of both players' one-handed backhands.
When the set went to a tie-break, Moller hit a strong run of form while Dimitrov’s level dipped slightly. The Dane won the tie-break 7-2 to secure the first set.
After an even start to the second set, Dimitrov gained the upper hand by breaking serve to lead 4-2. The Bulgarian, playing Davis Cup for the first time since 2015, closed out the set 6-3 with a love game.
Moller started the third set more strongly, but the Dane faced a challenge as Dimitrov served well and conceded very little in his own service games. The Dane saved a break point with an ace at 1-1 but ran into trouble again at 4-4. Moller actually had three chances to take a 5-4 lead, but instead, Dimitrov broke serve when the Dane hit a backhand into the net.
Dimitrov then served out the match to give Bulgaria a 1-0 lead. Holger Rune will face Iliyan Radulov in the second match on Friday evening.