Grigor Dimitrov takes stock at the last Masters of the season in Paris-Bércy and talks in an interview about his “best season so far” of his professional existence.
The Bulgarian player has never played as consistently as this season. Already at the beginning of the year, Dimitrov was on an extremely high level and secured the title in Brisbane. The Australian Open semi-final against Rafael Nadal will remain in the minds of tennis fans for a long time to come. The 26-year-old fought a fierce battle against the Spaniard for just under five hours, which he lost after five narrow sets. The starting signal for a great season.
“I think I’ve been playing at a consistently high level throughout the year, helping me drive more fresh and motivated to the tournaments,”said number eight in the world. In the end, this aspect would also be reflected in the results, says Dimitrov,
In his breakthrough year of 2014, Dimitrov was already ranked eighth in the world rankings. In the years after that, he was unable to tie in with these achievements, slipped further and further in the ranking and threatened to lose the connection as an eternal talent. Until calendar year 2017. After a great start in Australia, the year’s second title win followed with a triumph in his home country in Sofia, Bulgaria.
This was followed by a small drop in form – probably due to the high intensity – with early defeats at the Masters in Miami and Indian Wells.
In Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome Dimitrov also had to cancel the sails early on. The slower sand court tennis is not the strength of the 26-year-old, who prefers the fast surface on hard court or lawn. The end of the third round at the French Open should be the turning point of the descent.
The semi-final participation in the preparation tournament at Wimbledon, the Aegon Championships in London, was followed by the round of 16 against Roger Federer, who later won the tournament.
With the subsequent coup at the Masters in Cincinnati, the Bulgarian won the longed-for title and became a serious opponent for every player.
With another semi-final in Beijing and the final in Stockholm, Baby-Federer fulfilled his long-awaited dream of participating in the ATP World Tour Finals in London,”It’s not only the biggest dream for me, but also for my team. When I qualified, I couldn’t have been happier,”confessed Dimitrov. The 26-year-old cannot really imagine what participation in the tournament of the top eight in the O2 arena will mean and how it will feel like:”I’ll only realize it when I arrive in London.”
Dimitrov has the chance to win one or the other victory at the last Masters of the season in Paris-Bércy. In the second round, the Bulgarian will meet Richard Gasquet from France after a walk-through.
The single panel in Paris-Bércy