Following impressive showings in their opening matches this week at the Aegon Championships, Grigor Dimitrov and Gilles Muller will once again cross paths to determine who will get one step closer to the latter stages of this pre-Wimbledon warm up event. This is the third time that the two competitors will cross paths on the ATP World Tour, with the series tied 1-1. Muller actually won their most recent encounter this season on the hard courts of Rotterdam, while Dimitrov won their first meeting at this very event three years ago.

Defending champion Grigor Dimitrov needed two days to get through his opening round match against Sam Querrey. He eventually rallied from a set and a break down in the match to secure the 4-6, 6-3 6-4 over the Aegon champion from five years ago.

“I was very calm, which really helped me,” he said of the turnaround. “After the first break, I knew that I was on the right track. Then obviously making the second one, finishing for the set, and today coming out was a completely different day. It was warmer, brighter, so everything was just totally different for me. It was a new day. For me, it was a new match.”

Dimitrov will come up against Gilles Muller, who had a similarly difficult path into the second round of the tournament. He struck 37 aces, won 85% of his first service points and saved all eight of the break points he faced to close out the match against Youzhny 6-7(5), 6-4, 7-6(5) after two hours and 26 minutes.

This marks the third time that the two competitors will meet on the professional tour and will also serve as the rubber match to determine who will take the lead in their head-to-head series. Muller won their most recent encounter this season on the hard courts of Rotterdam, while Dimitrov won their first meeting at this very event three years ago. It will be interesting to see if the defending champion can advance to the following round.