Grigor Dimitrov is unsure if he will be able to defend his title at the Sofia Open after revealing that he is suffering from a shoulder injury.
The world No.3 told reporters in his home country on Saturday that pain in his shoulder as well as exhaustion has prevented him from training on the court. Dimitrov has played eight matches on the tour so far this season. At the Brisbane International, he lost to nick Kyrgios in the quarter-finals. Then at the Australian Open he went out to Kyle Edmund in the last eight.
“I underwent a medical examination in Monaco yesterday,” Dimitrov told a news conference in Sofia.
“I didn’t feel well, I felt pain in my shoulder.
“I’m expecting the results in the coming days and I hope that I’ll be able to fight again but I don’t want to make promises. I never want to play in a tournament if I’m not 100 percent fit.”
Bulgarian website Tennis24 has quoted Dimitrov saying that he has been dealing with shoulder pain in his three most recent matches. Although it is uncertain as to how much pain he is currently experiencing.
Reflecting on the issue, the 26-year-old believes that the problem has been partly caused due to a lack of rest during the off-season. Last year Dimitrov won won his biggest title to date at the ATP Finals in London. The tournament took place midway through November.
“I played some tough matches in Australia and I got tired,” he said.
“I had only one week rest after the end of last season… (and) … you just can’t go against your body.”
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, Dimitrov is eyeing an improvement in his consistency and performance on the tour. Saying he believes that he can one day win a grand slam tournament. Dimitrov is yet to play in the final of a major.
“The goal is to get better every day. I want to play better in tournaments where I did not perform well in the past year.” He explained.
The Sofia Open will get underway on February 5th and is classed as an ATP 250 tournament. Dimitrov is currently the only top 20 player set to participate in the event. Other players on the entry list include Hyeon Chung and Viktor Troicki.
