Grigor Dimitrov snapped a four-match losing streak on Thursday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, braving the wind and a dangerous opponent in France’s Terence Atmane, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4.

Next up? Two-time champion Carlos Alcaraz.

Though it hasn’t been a sparkling season thus far for the 34-year-old Bulgarian, there is hope that his 13th appearance in Tennis Paradise can spark a revival.

The right mindset

Dimitrov earned 16 break points, converting 11, as he improved to 2-1 lifetime against World No. 52 Atmane. After a trade of breaks early in the third, Dimitrov broke critically in the third game of the decider and held serve the rest of the way for his 17th career win in the California desert.

“I'm not going to lie. I think it was very difficult on both sides,” 34-year-old Dimitrov said after his victory on a breezy, balmy afternoon inside Stadium 1. “I think I started the match very good, but it was very difficult to maintain a solid level.

“Honestly it could have gone either way, but I was able to stay very strong in the most important moments.”

Unseeded at the event for the first time since 2011, Dimitrov will attempt to earn his third career win over Alcaraz on Saturday. Last year he fell to the Spaniard here, 6-1, 6-1, in the round of 16.

Win or lose in that highly anticipated clash, Dimitrov is just excited to be finding his winning ways after a long month off the tour due to a pectoral injury suffered last year at Wimbledon.

“I think I'm always looking on my side of the net, and I think at that point in my career I'm almost only gonna look on my side of the net… This is the mindset that I just want to adopt a little bit more, especially coming from seven months away from the game and really not being able to compete at the highest level at all.

“I'm gonna have the mindset to come and try to grab the match. That won't change whoever I'm playing.”

Kovacevic’s Milestone

It was a beautiful day for New York native Aleksandar Kovacevic on Thursday on Stadium 2. The World No. 72 scored a 7-6(6), 7-6(4) victory over Hubert Hurkacz for his first win in Tennis Paradise. Safe to say, it was a long time coming.

Kovacevic, who faces France’s Corentin Moutet in the second round, says his struggles at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden go back to his junior days.

“This is literally my favorite tournament, and I've never won a match here when it comes to pros, juniors, or anything,” Kovacevic said. “Qualifying, nothing. But I still always say I love coming here. It's so fun. So it was nice to get through it today and extend my stay at least for a couple more days."

Getting the win over former Top 10 talent made it even sweeter for the American.

"Obviously, I knew it was going to be tough,” Kovacevic said. “He's a great player. I knew he was gonna make a lot of good serves and I would try to win a couple points in the tie breaks and hopefully get the win.”

Kovacevic, who squandered a pair of match points against Frances Tiafoe in the round of 16 at Acapulco last week, says winning the biggest points has been the missing ingredient for him of late. He was happy to turn the tide against the former World No. 6 (currently No. 71).

“That's tennis. Sometimes you win matches that you're not supposed to win and sometimes you lose matches you're not supposed to lose, and last year I did lose a lot of matches that I felt like I should have won, and that could be something where I just need to improve, be a little better in the bigger moments,” he said.

Michelsen moves on

21-year-old Alex Michelsen passed the first hurdle on Thursday, easing past Spanish qualifier Daniel Merida, 6-3, 6-4 on Stadium 2. The Laguna Hills native dominated the short points, winning 63 points of eight or fewer strokes, and dropping just 42.

He converted three of four break points as he rallied from a break down in the second set to set a second-round clash with No. 32-seeded Ugo Humbert.

In other action, Sebastian Baez defeated China's Tseng Chun-Hsin, 6-3, 6-2, while Poland's Kamil Majchrzak edged past hard-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, 6-3, 1-6, 7-5.

Spain's Robert Bautista Agut was also a winner. He defeated Hungary's Fabian Marozsan, 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-4 to set a second-round tilt with defending champion Jack Draper.