Coming off his upset of top-ranked Novak Djokovic in Madrid, Grigor Dimitrov opened his Italian Open campaign with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Cypriot veteran Marcos Baghdatis on Sunday.
At 21, Dimitrov is the youngest player in the Foro Italico draw. The Bulgarian is ranked No. 28.
Dimitrov will next face ninth-seeded Richard Gasquet, who beat Sam Querrey of the United States 6-2, 7-6 (8).
John Isner, the only other American in the draw, was eliminated by Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan, 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-3.
In other first-round action on the red clay, Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine ousted Italian wild-card entry Matteo Viola 6-4, 6-3; Kevin Anderson of South Africa routed Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-1, 6-2; and Marcel Granollers of Spain beat former No. 3 Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 6-4.
