Dimitrov returns to his best
Since reaching semifinals at the Wimbledon Championships, Grigor Dimitrov has experienced his fair share of ups and downs. Nicknamed ‘baby Fed’ due to the similarities in his tennis to the 17-time grand slam champion, the 25-year-old produced a flawless display at the Brisbane International.
Until this week the Bulgarian had never defeated more than one top 10 player in a tournament. That record was smash after he produced back-to-back wins over Dominic Thiem and top seed Milos Raonic. In the final he faced another top 10 player, Kei Nishikori, who has defeated Dimitrov in their three previous meetings. Nevertheless, he held his nerve and attacked his rivals shots to clinch the three sets win and his first title since 2014.
“It is one of the big moments for me,” said Dimitrov.
“It’s been quite a few months for me on and off the court. I think that was an emotional win for me, but at the same time, it wasn’t unexpected. I have put in the work. I think I have learned a lot. I have gone through some serious work and I have just been working on myself on and off the court.”
It wasn’t just the players Dimitrov defeated which signals a welcome resurgence, it was the manner of how he did it. Throughout the entire week at the tournament, the world No.17 was broken just four times (two of which occurred in the final)
Falling to a low of 40th last year, Dimitrov will not rise inside the top 15 on the ATP rankings for the first time since June 2015.
