Grigor Dimitrov has insisted that he will take "a lot of confidence" away from his third-round victory over Marcos Baghdatis at the Australian open this morning.
The 10th seed struggled to get going in a contest which lasted just short of three-and-a-half hours, although he battled through to claim a 4-6 6-3 3-6 6-3 6-3 win.
Speaking after his match against the 2006 runner-up, Dimitrov told reporters: "I felt quite good physically, which was I think the best sign for me today. I'm not going to hide my excitement of winning the match because it meant a lot to me.
"To be able to play three and a half hours and win 6-3 in the fifth and feeling really good after the match physically, that says a lot for me. Just getting ready for the next one. I just feel that matches like that, it's really important to win, even if it's not on your best days.
"This is how you go forward. Today was one of those days for me, that I didn't really feel good on the court, wasn't really comfortable with my game, but I found a way to fight through it two sets to one down. To me that says a lot. In the same time, gives me a lot of confidence."
Dimitrov will now take on British number one Andy Murray in the next round in Melbourne.
Daniel Lewis
