Grigor Dimitrov says he has ‘plenty of tennis left in him’ after achieving a new milestone at the Shanghai Masters this week.
The world No.10 took to the court on Monday to resume his second round match against Belgium’s Zizou Bergs which had been postponed due to poor weather over the weekend. Dimitrov, who is seeded ninth, battled to a 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, victory. He has won the opening match at 14 out of 16 tournaments played this year.
Making his eighth appearance in Shanghai, Dimitrov is playing in his 100th Masters 1000 event and has won 141 matches so far in his career. He made his main draw debut at the 2011 Miami Masters and won the Cincinnati title six years later.
“100. Wow, that’s a lot of Masters.” The 33-year-old told reporters on Monday.
“I think whatever comes my way right now it’s a pure bonus. I think for me one of the biggest things I think throughout the years that I feel like I have learned a lot is the appreciation of what we do.
“I think the longevity, when you look back and you think about it, it kind of hits you in a very funny way, like in a good way. And then all of a sudden you go like too far in the past, so it’s like I’m trying not to really overthink about that, especially where I’m at right now.”
A former world No.3, the Bulgarian has won nine ATP titles so far in his career with the most prestigious being the 2017 ATP Finals. An event he is still in contention of qualifying for this season. In the Grand Slams, he has reached the quarter-finals of better on eight occasions including twice in 2024.
“I think a lot of my career also kind of resembles a bit of my life outside of the court. You want to make some changes, but at the same time, these are changes that only affect your career more so than anything else. So, it’s a give and take until you are done with it, I guess.” He explains.
“I think I still have a lot of tennis left in me. It’s more about management now, and how I’m going to put myself in a position to have a pure joy every time I’m getting out there, and not to think so much of the result.
“It’s very difficult, especially when you play really well and when you’re top 10 and all that, of course, you still want more, but you need to, I don’t know if it’s patience anymore if it’s consistency, I think it’s just, you put it all together and in the end, it comes down to you.”
Tour vetran Dimitrov is still a formidable force on the court despite being the second-oldest player in the top 20 after Novak Djokovic. He will next play Alexei Popyrin in Shanghai.
