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Dimitrov celebrates his qualification for the Paris-Bercy final (REUTERS).
At the end of 2017, when he won the ATP Finals after having been champion in Brisbane, Sofia and Cincinnati, Grigor Dimitrov’s future looked bright. That same year he forced Rafa Nadal to bring out the best version of him to beat him in the semifinals of the Australian Open and closed the season in the Top-3 of the ATP ranking. Only surpassed by the Spaniard and by Roger Federer with whom he was compared for his technique and, especially, for the one-handed backhand. “It was one of the most irrelevant comparisons in my opinion. At first I liked it, it was fun, but then it got boring. The comparison has crushed me a little,” explains the Bulgarian, annoyed with the simile.
Dimitrov’s progression in those years made him the tennis player capable of threatening the hegemony of the Big Three, however, his growth was nipped in the bud. The pressure and high expectations generated around his figure got the better of him. The results did not arrive. Only two finals since then, Rotterdam in 2018 and Geneva this year, and a drop in the ATP ranking to number 78. He changed coaches on several occasions in order to find the key and this year, he has found it .
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After six months of those successes, the Bulgarian will once again compete in a Masters 1,000 final after beating Stefanos Tsitsipas and meeting Djokovic in Paris-Bercy. “I have learned not to think about missed opportunities. I no longer have to prove anything to anyone, I do everything exclusively for myself. I can’t express what this means. I haven’t come back, I just never left. “I accept everything that has happened to me and everything I have had to go through, without thinking about whether I have wasted opportunities,” says the Bulgarian, who at 32 years old competes to enjoy and not because of the obligation to respond to the enormous expectations generated. in 2017. When he won his first and only Masters 1,000, he won the ATP Finals and entered the Top-3 of the ATP rankings.
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Six years later, Dimitrov returns to a Masters 1000 final!
Tomorrow he will seek his first title since the 2017 ATP Finals.
Look how he celebrates it ????
— Set Tennis (@settenisok) November 4, 2023
“My feeling is that I have made a mental change on the Asian tour,” he adds, installed in 14th place in the world and having surpassed players of the stature of Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev and Tsitsipas himself over the last month. “I’ve been playing well all year, but I really enjoyed the Asian tour. I have returned to being a tennis player who looks for things with his own weapons, not waiting for the mistakes of others. My goal is to win or lose by myself. Lately I’m controlling my emotions and I’ve had the right attitude. I know what has happened in my career, but I don’t feel sorry for myself,” he says.
A key figure in his recovery has been Daniel Vallverdú, a coach with whom he met again in 2022 and who has been able to revive the Bulgarian. “Now he believes in him and his game again. His confidence last year was low, he achieved 26 wins compared to 24 in 2021 and 18 in 2022. There is only one thing that can help him recover it: victories. He has achieved 41 this year and that is a great boost,” highlights the coach capable of reactivating a tennis player locked in a question of faith. Dimitrov is believing knowing that what you imagined will probably not happen. Only one obstacle separates him from glory in Paris: Novak Djokovic, his bête noire who has won eleven of his twelve matches.
2023-11-05 06:31:00
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