Even before the first racquet shots were given on Monday, the ATP 500 tournament in Barcelona got off to a bad start for Grigor Dimitrov. According to the daily El Mundothe 31-year-old Bulgarian was relieved of a watch worth 70,000 euros on Friday evening in the Catalan capital.
Returning from training, the 25th player in the world was traveling by car when men on motorcycles folded down the mirror of his vehicle, at the level of a red light in the Sarrià district, to the west of the city. Dimitrov then took out his arm to replace it, and the thieves took the opportunity to steal his very expensive watch.
The winner of the 2017 Masters traveled to Barcelona after his elimination from the Monte-Carlo tournament by the Czech Jiri Lehecka on Wednesday. He filed a complaint with the police, who opened an investigation for theft with violence.
Dimitrov is due to start the tournament on Tuesday, against an opponent yet to be determined.