Grigor Dimitrov's misfiring game has forced him to scrap and scramble into the fourth round of the Australian Open and the No.3 seed loves it.
The Bulgarian overcame Russian 30th seed Andrey Rublev on Friday in four sets - 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-4 - on Rod Laver Arena despite 15 double faults and 61 unforced errors.
The rusty performance came on the heels of a tough five-set win over unheralded American qualifier Mackenzie McDonald, who won the fourth set to love before Dimitrov regrouped to take the fifth 8-6.
But Dimitrov, who finished an impressive 2017 campaign with a win in the ATP Finals in London, is unfazed.
"You don't win slams in the first week, simple as that. You need to go through those (tough) matches," Dimitrov said.
"That's the case right now.
"How I win right now, I love it. I mean, on days that you don't feel the best, those are the matches that count a lot.
"The bigger upside is it can only get better from now. Hopefully, the next match, I can be even better."
The Rublev match began in the hottest part of a day when temperatures peaked at 40.2 degres, but Dimitrov refused to use the extreme heat at Melbourne Park as an excuse.
If anything, it made him feel at home.
"I love being out in the heat - that doesn't scare me at all," he said.
"Back in Bulgaria when I was a kid growing up, the summers were pretty hot and dry. I felt like almost home today.
"The conditions were great ... I feel I can manage my rhythm a little bit better."
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