ATP: Grigor Dimitrov has finally reached the big target

For years, Grigor Dimitrov has only partially fulfilled the expectations placed in him. After the success at the ATP finals in London, the Bulgarian team will now be a permanent fixture.

In recent years, when the name Grigor Dimitrov was mentioned in world tennis, it was mostly associated with failure. With unnecessary defeats, unfulfilled hopes and a label that was a burden for him: baby feathers. Dimitrov may seem like a younger edition of the Swiss Maestro, but he is an aesthetic on the ball, sleek, elegant and artistic. But he has never before had the bite, the power, the professionalism of Federer. Thus Dimitrov followed the call of the “underperformer” at every turn, the call of a man who made little or nothing of his potential. And who appeared in the very big headlines as a kind of actor with the best supporting role, as a partner of superstar Maria Sharapova and most recently ex-Pussycat-Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger.

But now Dimitrov, of all people, had the last powerful word in the 2017 tennis series – at the London World Championship of professional players,”I don’t have the words. What’s rarely happened elsewhere,”said Dimitrov when he won 7-5,4-6,6-6,6-3 over Belgian David Goffin to become the champion of the most important tournament alongside the four Grand Slams. The triumph also led to an interesting snapshot in the tennis pecking order: Dimitrov has now swung up to third place, just behind the grands Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer. And in front of the German striker Alexander Zverev.

Often Dimitrov had not been able to take advantage of the moment, the chance of a breakthrough. But at this amazing World Cup tournament, he kept his head clear in the turbulence of the competition and also fell into the vacuum created by the lack of form of some players, the absence of some top people and a certain amount of fatigue at Superman Federer. Dimitrov, however, was by no means exclusively the profiteer or favourite of the others, but also a self-determined winner with top performances – a tennis king by virtue of his own authority. When it came down to it, also in the final, he overcame fluttering moments and crossed the finish line first with an energetic final spurt. The fact that he did not have to defeat neither Nadal nor Federer on his way to the title was immediately accused of being a flaw – it was an absurd throw-in, especially considering the high quality of this worthy final.

All those who took part in this final or were complained of being prominent absentees will be represented in the big tennis bill next year together with the new world champion. The big question for and around Dimitrov is simple: Was this victory in London a breakthrough moment? Or was it all just a one-time effect, without echo, without sustainability? It’s hard to say, but Dimitrov seems to have found a more serious attitude towards his profession after years of not always being overly serious – a mentality that allows him to show the much-needed consistency at the highest level “Nothing is more motivating and inspiring than great success. As a title like this in London,”the Bulgarian said on Sunday evening.

In addition, Dimitrov’s 26 years in a touring business where career horizons have changed dramatically, has the best years ahead of him. Dimitrow’s situation can be compared to that of the other Swiss world-class professional Stan Wawrinka: for years he was the shadow man Federer, the hesitant and hesitant at the Centre Courts, the Chancentod. Until he won his first Grand Slam title at the age of 28 and added two more major cup victories to this debut,”I’m sure I have many good years ahead of me,”Dimitrov said in the hour of London’s success.

In any case, he will also be one of those who are at the middle age of their careers and want to slow down the advance of the next-generation players around Zverev. Many in tennis had predicted that the successors for 36-year-old Federer and all the other Ü30 greats such as Djokovic, Murray, Nadal or Wawrinka would come from the group of the early twenties. In this theory, Dimitrov was one of the lost generation, the would-be champions. The tennis year 2017, a continuation of the astonishment, could also have thrown these mind games overboard. Dimitrov is now to be expected, even when it comes to the most valuable trophies in world tennis.