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Revision as of 08:28, 5 June 2013

Grigor Dimitrov
Григор Димитров
Dimitrov as Junior Wimbledon champion for 2008
Country (sports) Bulgaria
ResidenceParis, France
Born (1991-05-16) 16 May 1991 (age 33)
Haskovo, Bulgaria
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Turned pro2008
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,446,946
Singles
Career record66–64 (at Grand Slam-level, ATP World Tour-level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
4 Challengers, 6 Futures
Highest rankingNo. 26 (May 13, 2013)
Current rankingNo. 28 (May 27, 2013)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (2011, 2012)
French Open3R (2013)
Wimbledon2R (2011, 2012)
US Open1R (2011, 2012)
Other tournaments
Olympic Games2R (2012)
Doubles
Career record14–22 (at Grand Slam-level, ATP World Tour-level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles0
1 Challenger, 2 Futures
Highest rankingNo. 105 (April 15, 2013)
Current rankingNo. 105 (May 27, 2013)
Last updated on: May 27, 2013.

Grigor Dimitrov (Template:Lang-bg) (born 16 May 1991) is a professional Bulgarian tennis player who as of May 27 2013 is ranked World No. 28 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). Dimitrov is the most successful Bulgarian male tennis player, both in terms of ranking reached — first and only player to rank inside the top 30 — and prize money won, being the only player to reach $1M. He is also the first (and only) Bulgarian to reach an ATP final in singles (in 2013) and doubles (in 2011) as well as the only Bulgarian male player to reach the 3rd round of a Grand Slam tournament (in 2013 at Roland Garros). Prior to his professional career, Dimitrov enjoyed a successful junior career, in which he held the World No. 1 ranking and won the Boys' Singles titles at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships and the 2008 US Open.

Personal life

Grigor was born in Haskovo, Bulgaria as the only child of father Dimitar, a tennis coach and mother Maria, a sports teacher and former volleyball player. He first held a tennis racket, given to him by his mother at the age of three and when he was five he began to play daily. During his teenage years he lived in Paris, France while training at Patrick Mouratoglou's Tennis Academy. He speaks fluent Bulgarian and English and says his main interests are sports, cars, computers and watches. Since his junior career he has had several nicknames, including G-Force, Dimi, PT (Prime Time) and Baby Fed.

Dimitrov was rumored to be dating Russian WTA No. 2 Maria Sharapova throughout the second half of 2012, but the two only confirmed their relationship after the 2013 Madrid Open, where the Bulgarian managed his first win against a world No. 1, beating Novak Djokovic.

Junior career

His first major junior coup was when, at age 14, he claimed the U14 European title. In 2006 he won the Orange Bowl U16 boys singles and was later named the Eddie Herr International 2007 Rising Star.

In 2007, Grigor was the finalist at the Orange Bowl U18 boys singles, losing to Ričardas Berankis of Lithuania. Alongside Vasek Pospisil, he reached the 2007 US Open doubles final, falling to Jonathan Eysseric and Jérôme Inzerillo.

He began the 2008 Grand Slam season with a quarterfinal showing at Roland Garros, losing to Poland's Jerzy Janowicz in three sets. However he went on to win Wimbledon after defeating Henri Kontinen of Finland in the final. He won the title without dropping a set despite playing with a shoulder injury throughout the tournament. The victory saw him join former junior champions Roger Federer and Stefan Edberg and guaranteed him a wildcard entry into the 2009 Wimbledon men's draw. His success continued at the US Open, which he won on September 7, defeating American qualifier Devin Britton in two sets. On his way to the title he also defeated top seed Tsung-hua Yang of Taiwan in the semifinals. After the tournament Dimitrov announced that he was ending his junior career and focusing on improving his ATP ranking. On September 8 he became junior World No. 1 overtaking Tsung-hua Yang. He closed at No. 3 of the junior ranking that year.

Dimitrov compiled a singles win/loss record of 66–25 as a junior (and 42–20 in doubles).

Junior Grand Slam results:

Australian Open: -
French Open: QF (2008)
Wimbledon: W (2008)
US Open: W (2008)

Junior Grand Slam Finals: 3 (2 Titles, 1 Runner-up)

Singles: 2 (2 Titles)

Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner 1. July 6, 2008 Wimbledon Grass Finland Henri Kontinen 7–5, 6–3
Winner 2. September 8, 2008 US Open Hard United States Devin Britton 6–4, 6–3

Doubles: 1 (1 Runner-up)

Outcome No. Date Championship Surface Partner Opponent Score
Runner-up 1. September 9, 2007 US Open Hard Canada Vasek Pospisil France Jonathan Eysseric
France Jérôme Inzerillo
2–6, 4–6

Professional career

2008

Grigor began frequent participation in men's events in 2008. His first title came on clay at a futures tournament in Barcelona (May 19).

His first ATP level match was at 's-Hertogenbosch where he lost to Igor Andreev (RUS) in straight sets.

After his junior US Open title he won back to back futures tournaments in Madrid on hard court and rose 300 places to career high ranking of 477. The achievement attracted enough attention to earn him a wildcard into the AMS Madrid qualifying draw where he lost to then No.64 Florent Serra of France.

After being granted another wildcard to the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Championships in Basel, he won his first professional match at the ATP level by defeating No.122 Jiří Vaněk (CZE) in three sets in the first round of the qualifying draw.

2009

At the start of 2009 he was granted a wildcard to the main draw of the 2009 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. In the first round he upset the then world No.23 Tomáš Berdych (CZE). In the second round he faced World No.1 Rafael Nadal and lost in three sets.

He was granted a wildcard to the main draw of the ATP World Tour 250 event Open 13 in Marseille, France. He lost to world No.8 Gilles Simon of France in the first round, after serving for the match at 5–3 in the third set.

At the Besançon challenger in France Grigor was defeated by ATP 102 Denis Istomin in the round of 32. He then completed two victories for Bulgaria v Hungary in the Davis Cup. He reached the round of 16 in the Thailand Challenger where he lost to Danai Udomchoke of Thailand in straight sets.

Four first round exits in Challengers followed, including a disappointing first round exit in his home country, Bulgaria. He then reached the quarter finals of two successive challengers in Cremona, Italy and Nottingham, England.

He reached the 2nd round of the Queen's Club Championships, where he lost in two tiebreaks to Gilles Simon.

In Wimbledon where he got a wildcard as the 2008 Juniors Champion he won the first set of his first round match against Igor Kunitsyn but then suffered a knee injury. Despite this he attempted to continue but lost the following 10 games before he retired.

He was granted a wildcard to the main draw of the Catella Swedish Open in Båstad, Sweden an ATP World Tour 250 event. He lost his first round match vs. Guillermo Cañas.

He reached the quarter finals of the challenger in Segovia, Spain losing out in three sets to Marcel Granollers of Spain. After beating Nicolas Mahut of France in the first round of the Istanbul Challenger Grigor lost out to Martin Fischer of Austria in straight sets

As the 2008 winner of the US Open Boys Tournament he was granted a wildcard for the 2009 US Open Qualification Tournament. He won his first round match vs. Tobias Kamke (Germany) but in the second round he lost to the number 1 seed of the qualification Thomaz Bellucci.

On September 27, 2009 Dimitrov won his first doubles challenger title in Trnava, Slovakia together with Teymuraz Gabashvili. In the final they beat Minars and Rosol from Czech Republic in a very close match.

2010

Dimitrov started the 2010 season with a quarterfinal finish at a challenger event in Nouméa, New Caledonia. He then attempted to qualify for the Australian Open, but lost in the first round to Robert Kendrick in three sets. He bounced back a week later by qualifying at the Honolulu challenger, reaching the round of 16 before losing to Donald Young. Dimitrov then participated for Bulgaria in the Davis Cup, claiming all 3 wins in a 3–2 victory over Monaco. Following the Davis Cup tie, Grigor had a number of early losses in various challenger tournaments.

Grigor receives the Apano Cup trophy

Dimitrov won his first ATP tour match of the year on the grass courts of the AEGON Championships in London. He beat Alex Bogdanovic before losing to World No. 31 Feliciano López in the second round. Grigor then had a great run in the Marburg challenger, where he came through qualifying to reach the semi-finals where he lost out to Simone Vagnozzi.

Grigor again had a number of disappointing losses in challenger events and another Davis Cup tie. Dimitrov then participated in four futures tournaments, posting impressive results, including two tournament victories in Germany, and another in Spain. Dimitrov gained enough points to enter the world's top 250 for the first time in his career.

His recent good form translated to the Challenger Tour, capturing his first ever challenger title in Geneva, where he defeated number 118 Pablo Andújar in three sets in the final.

He then played another challenger in Bangkok, where he beat former top 20 player Dmitry Tursunov in the quarterfinals en route to his second consecutive tournament win. He defeated Konstantin Kravchuk in the final which placed him in top 150 in the world. He was the highest ranked teenager on the ATP Tour at that time.

In a second challenger in the same venue in Bangkok in the very next week Grigor beat Ivan Dodig (First Round), Go Soeda (SF) and Alexandre Kudryavtsev (F) on his way to win the tournament, which was his third consecutive Challenger win and gave him a spot in the Top 140 in the ATP ranking. He expressed that after this victory it is his aim to enter the ATP top 100 in 2011.

He made an early exit in his first challenger after a two week break but bounced back a week later, beating top 100 player Lukáš Lacko and world number 32 Michaël Llodra on the way to the final of the Orléans challenger. In the final Grigor lost to Frenchman Nicolas Mahut in a third set tiebreak.

Grigor Dimitrov at the 2010 Chang-Sat Bangkok Open

After two disappointing challenger tournaments in Germany, in which Dimitrov suffered first round exits, he reached the semifinals of the challenger tournament in Helsinki, his last tournament of the year. There he played Lithuanian youngster Ričardas Berankis. After the loss of a tight first set in a tiebreak, Dimitrov dominated the second set but was dominated in turn by Berankis in a third set loss. In an off-court incident after the match, Dimitrov pushed the chair umpire with both hands and sweared at him because he felt he was treated unfairly after some close calls in the first set tiebreak. Dimitrov was fined €2,000, and the ATP will investigate this incident to see if further disciplinary action is warranted. By reaching the semifinals in Helsinki, Dimitrov reached his best ever ATP world ranking (106).

2011

Dimitrov's first tournament of the year was the Australian Open, where he advanced through the qualifying rounds with the loss of just one set. He defeated world number 38 Andrey Golubev in the first round to advance for the first time to the second round of a Grand Slam tournament where he lost to 19th seed Stanislas Wawrinka. Nonetheless, Dimitrov achieved his top ever ATP ranking, ending January at 85th spot. Thus, he became the top ranked Bulgarian male tennis player of all time.

On February 6, Dimitrov qualified for the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam. In Rotterdam, he faced 8th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first round. He lost in two sets.

In March 2011, Dimitrov won the 2011 Challenger DCNS de Cherbourg defeating the defending champion and number two seed Nicolas Mahut in the final to move to number 71 in the ATP World Rankings.

On April 1, Dimitrov became the first Bulgarian man ever to be seeded at an ATP World Tour tournament being seeded 8 at the 2011 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston. On April 27, he reached his first quarterfinals in an ATP tournament, defeating Marcos Baghdatis at the 2011 BMW Open in Munich, achieving a career-best ranking of #66.

Dimitrov lost in the first round of the 2011 French Open against Jérémy Chardy.

Dimitrov then advanced to his second ATP quarterfinals at the 2011 AEGON International after he defeated sixth seeded Kevin Anderson in the 2nd round, but lost in the 3rd round to 3rd seed Janko Tipsarević (who went to reach the final).

On June 16, he became the first Bulgarian man ever to reach a doubles final at an ATP tournament together with Andreas Seppi at the 2011 AEGON International in Eastbourne. At Wimbledon, he lost a memorable second round match to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga where the crowd was standing during the fourth set tiebreak.At 2011 Western & Southern Open Dimitrov defeated Marsel İlhan in the first round, but lost to world number 6 David Ferrer in the second round.

At 2011 US Open Dimitrov was defeated by Gaël Monfils in the first round. In the Open de Moselle in Metz, Dimitrov was beaten in 53 minutes by qualifier Igor Sijsling in the first round. After that, in the Thailand Open, Dimitrov beat Ivan Dodig and Simone Bolelli, before falling to Andy Murray in the quarter-finals in two sets.

In his next tournament (the China Open) he lost once again to no. 1 seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. At 2011 Shanghai Rolex Masters Dimitrov beat Marsel İlhan (for the second time this year) in the first round but was defeated by Andy Roddick in the second round. At 2011 If Stockholm Open Dimitrov beat Ryan Sweeting and Juan Ignacio Chela before losing to Milos Raonic in the quarterfinals.

2012

Dimitrov started his 2012 season by competing at the 2012 Hopman Cup alongside Tsvetana Pironkova. Their team was defeated by the Czech Republic 1–2, after they won a match in mixed doubles but lost their singles matches. Then, their team defeated Denmark 2–1. Against USA, Dimitrov trounced Mardy Fish in straight sets in his first win (although not official ATP win) against a Top 10 player. At 2012 Australian Open Dimitrov defeated Jérémy Chardy to reach the second round but then he lost in five sets to Nicolás Almagro. Dimitrov competed in the 2012 SAP Open singles tournament but lost in the first round. In the doubles tournament, Dimitrov and doubles partner John Paul Fruttero lost to №1 seeded Christopher Kas and Santiago González. At the 2012 BNP Paribas Open Dimitrov defeated Ivan Dodig in the first round, but lost to David Ferrer in the second round. Dimitrov's next tournament was the 2012 Sony Ericsson Open, where he reached the fourth round after defeating Mikhail Kukushkin, Juan Ignacio Chela, and Tomáš Berdych, before losing to Janko Tipsarević. Dimitrov entered the 2012 Strabag Prague Open as the 5th seeded player. In the first round he defeated Jan Hájek and then lost to Aljaž Bedene in the second. At the French Open, Dimitrov was a set and a break up against 17th seed Gasquet before suffering an injury, he went on to lose the set, the momentum and eventually the match.

Dimitrov's next tournament was the 2012 AEGON Championships. He beat Bobby Reynolds, Gilles Müller and Mahut and then reached his first ATP semifinal by beating the number 9 seed, Kevin Anderson by coming back from a set down. Dimitrov became the first ever Bulgarian male tennis player to reach an ATP semifinal. In his first ATP semifinal Dimitrov lost to 10th seeded David Nalbandian. This tournament helped him become #65 in the rankings.

At 2012 Wimbledon Championships, Dimitrov faced the #32 seed, Kevin Anderson in the first round. Dimitrov won in a very close four sets. In the second round, he faced the Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, where Dimitrov retired due to an injury.

His next tournament was 2012 Swedish Open. Seeded 6th, he eliminated Rogério Dutra da Silva in the first round. In the second round, he defeated Frederico Gil. In the quarterfinals Dimitrov defeated the third seeded Albert Ramos to reach a second ATP semifinal in his career. In the semifinal, he lost to the #1 seed and eventual champion, David Ferrer but with this semifinal, Dimitrov moved up 8 places to #61 in the rankings.

Dimitrov then competed in the Swiss Open. He defeated sixth seed Julien Benneteau, Dustin Brown, and Łukasz Kubot. In his third career semifinal, he lost again - this time to the Brazilian Thomaz Bellucci in two tough tiebreaks. This semifinal helped him become #53, a rank away from his best.

On the grass of Wimbledon, Dimitrov represented his country for the first time in the Olympics. In the first round, he defeated Pole Łukasz Kubot again, two weeks after he had beaten him in the Swiss Open quarterfinal. He fell in the second round to the 12th seed, Gilles Simon – his 4th loss against Simon (whom he has never beaten).

On hard courts, Dimitrov has failed to qualify for 2012 Rogers Cup and Cincinnati Masters. In both Master tournaments, he lost in the first round of the qualifying round to Swiss Marco Chiudinelli and American Rajeev Ram respectively.

Dimitrov started, and ended, his journey in the US Open by losing to Frenchman Benoît Paire 3:1 sets in the first round.

At 2012 Swiss Indoors Basel Dimitrov reached the quarterfinals, before losing to Paul-Henri Mathieu. His next tournament was the 2012 BNP Paribas Masters, after receiving an entry from the qualifying draw. He beat Jürgen Melzer before his 2012 campaign ended at the hands of Juan Mónaco. Dimitrov ended 2012 ranked World No. 48 in singles.

2013

Dimitrov began his 2013 season by competing at the Brisbane International. He defeated Brian Baker, world no. 13 Milos Raonic, Jürgen Melzer, and Marcos Baghdatis to reach his first ATP singles final (thus becoming the first Bulgarian player to reach an ATP final). He lost to world no. 3 and defending champion Andy Murray in straight sets, despite being a break up in both sets. Dimitrov also participated in the doubles event with Kei Nishikori. The pair reached the semifinals, but were forced to withdraw after Nishikori sustained an injury during his semifinal singles match against Murray. This performance also meant that Dimitrov surpassed $1 million earned in prize money, a feat which no other male Bulgarian tennis player has accomplished. Dimitrov also achieved a career-high singles ranking of world no. 41 following the event. In his next event the Apia International, Dimitrov suffered a first-round straight-set loss to Italian Fabio Fognini. At the Australian Open, Dimitrov suffered a first-round straight-set defeat to Julien Benneteau. He also competed in the men's doubles event with Marcos Baghdatis. The pair defeated fourth seeds Max Mirnyi and Horia Tecău in the second round, before losing to Juan Sebastián Cabal and Robert Farah Maksoud in the third round in two close tie-break sets. Despite losing in the first round, Dimitrov became the first male Bulgarian player to rank inside the top 40 after the event.

Next, in February, was Davis Cup competition between Bulgaria and Finland. In his first singles rubber, Dimitrov defeated Juho Paukku in three sets with the loss of just two games. Dimitrov lost in five sets in doubles (with partner Dimitar Kuzmanov) against Henri Kontinen and Harri Heliovaara. In the reverse singles, Dimitrov beat Micke Kontinen in three sets, but Finland ended up winning the tie 3–2. At the 2013 PBZ Zagreb Indoors, an ATP World Tour 250 event, Dimitrov lost in the first round to Ivo Karlović in two tie-breaks. At the ATP World Tour 500 Rotterdam tournament, Dimitrov beat Bernard Tomic and Nikolai Davydenko to reach the quarterfinals. There he won against Marcos Baghdatis in three exciting sets. In the semifinals, Dimitrov lost against world no. 7 Juan Martín del Potro (who went on to win the tournament) in straight sets. In doubles, Dimitrov and Baghdatis lost in the first round. Dimitrov reached a career-high of no. 31.

At Indian Wells in March, Dimitrov became the first Bulgarian male tennis player to be seeded in an ATP 1000 (Masters) event. In singles, he beat Matthew Ebden in two sets, but lost to world no. 1 Novak Djokovic in the third round. In doubles with partner Frederik Nielsen, after a win in the first round, he lost to Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo. Dimitrov reached his best doubles ranking: no. 186. Dimitrov's next tournament was the Miami Masters. He beat Simone Bolelli, but lost to second seed Andy Murray in straight sets. In doubles with partner Frederik Nielsen, he reached the third round, where they beat Tommy Haas and Xavier Malisse. Thus Dimitrov reached his third doubles semifinal. In the semi-finals, they lost in straight sets against the eighth seeds Poles Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski. Dimitrov dropped to no. 35 after Miami, but achieved a record doubles ranking of no. 107.

Dimitrov's next tournament was the clay-court Monte Carlo Masters in April, where he played in the singles. He beat Xavier Malisse in straight sets, then beat eighth seed Janko Tipsarević in the second round, also in straight sets, his second career victory against a top-10 player. He then beat world no. 30 Florian Mayer to reach the quarterfinals. There he lost in three sets in an exciting and long match (a little over 2 hours) against the eight-time defending champion and third seed Rafael Nadal, who went on to reach the final. This good run in Monte Carlo meant Dimitrov entered the top 30 in the ATP rankings for the first time, at no. 28.

His next event was Barcelona, also on clay, where he was seeded 14th and had a bye in the first round. In the second round, despite leading 5-2 in the first set, he lost in straight sets to in-form world №43 Tommy Robredo, who went on to reach the quarterfinals. He also participated in the Barcelona doubles with partner Radek Štěpánek, but they lost in straight sets against Ivan Dodig and Marcelo Melo in the first round.

At the Mutua Madrid Open, following a victory over fellow 21-year-old world №211 Javier Martí, Dimitrov recorded the biggest win of his career, defeating world №1 Novak Djokovic in an exciting and long (just over 3 hours) three set match. The two had met twice before, with Djokovic taking both encounters. In the 3rd round, despite winning the first set, he lost in 3 sets to 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka, who went on to reach the final. He also played in the doubles event with fellow youngster Milos Raonic, but they lost in the 1st round in straight sets in a match that lasted just under 1 hour (with one break of serve in the seventh game deciding both sets) against the veteran duo of Tommy Haas and Radek Štěpánek, who went on to reach the 1/4-finals. After Madrid, Dimitrov reached a career-best ranking of №26.

Dimitrov's next event was again on clay, in Rome. In what was his 4th victory over the Cypriot out of 5 matches, he beat world №38 Marcos Baghdatis in straight sets in the 1st round, with one break of serve deciding both sets. In the 2nd round he lost in straight sets against 9th seed and world №9 Richard Gasquet - his 4th loss against the Frenchman out of 4 matches. Dimitrov also played in the Rome doubles with partner Frederik Nielsen, but they lost in straight sets in the 1st round in a match that lasted just under 1 hour against the veterans Santiago González and Scott Lipsky, who went on to reach the semi-finals.

He next played at Roland Garros where he was seeded 26th, thus becoming the first ever Bulgarian male tennis player to be seeded at a Grand Slam tournament. He beat world №74 Alejandro Falla in the first round, after the Colombian retired trailing one set to love and one game down in the 2nd set, citing an elbow problem. Dimitrov eliminated wildcard world №324 Lucas Pouille in straight sets in the second round, thus becoming the first ever Bulgarian male tennis player to reach the 3rd round of a Grand Slam. He lost in straight sets against world №1 Novak Djokovic in the 3rd round. Dimitrov also played in the doubles with partner Frederik Nielsen and they defeated the unseeded Jeremy Chardy and Łukasz Kubot 2:1 sets (dropping the 2nd set on a tiebreak, then winning the deciding set in another tiebreak) in the 1st round. However, they then lost in straight sets to 7th seeded Alexander Peya and Bruno Soares in the 2nd round.

He will play in the Queen's grass court event next.

Coaching

As a child, Dimitrov was coached by his father, Dimitar, at Tennis Club Haskovo. As his talent became more apparent he started to receive coaching from abroad, most notably from Spaniard Pato Alvarez, who has also coached Britain's Andy Murray. Alvarez has reportedly said that Dimitrov is the best 17 year old he has coached. Around the time of his success at the 2009 ABN AMRO in Rotterdam, Dimitrov formally began a coaching relationship with Peter Lundgren, former coach of world number ones Marat Safin and Roger Federer. Lundgren has also been quick to praise Dimitrov, saying that "he is better than Federer was at his age." In June 2010 he ended his coaching relationship with Lundgren and was subsequently coached by Australian pro Peter McNamara. Dimitrov and McNamara have ended their coaching relationship at the end of the 2011 season. In 2012, Dimitrov was coached by Patrick Mouratoglou in an attempt to revive his fortunes. On 26 Nov 2012, Dimitrov left the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy and has joined the Good to Great Tennis Academy in Sweden, which is run by ex-touring pros Magnus Norman, Nicklas Kulti, and Mikael Tillström.

Playing style

Dimitrov is an all court player with a heavy emphasis on baseline play. He plays right-handed and employs a single-handed backhand. He considers the backhand down the line as his favorite shot and his favorite surfaces are hard court and grass. Despite this he has had notable success on clay courts as well, with wins over Novak Djokovic in Madrid and pushing Rafael Nadal to three sets at Monte Carlo. His game has been often compared to Roger Federer's (earning him the nickname "Baby Fed") due to the similarity in their ground strokes, particularly off the backhand side. He manages to duplicate the fluid motions of Federer's forehand, backhand, serve and volley with relative ease, and has shown himself capable of performing shots that continue the comparisons between him and Federer. Dimitrov has stated however that he would like people to appreciate his game to himself and not Federer. Despite his recent improvement in several areas, some people believe his movement and balance needs to be improved if he wants to reach the top of the game. His lack of stamina/physical fitness and his return of serve have also been cited as weaknesses. His own serve has improved in the recent months, and is consistent and powerful, although lacking in precision. His speed and hustle is quite remarkable from someone his age, but is noted that with his poor balance he often falls over himself, running past balls with an eagerness to reach every ball, tiring himself out quickly.

Equipment

Dimitrov is using a customized Wilson mid-size 93 square inches prototype racket provided by the Wilson Pro Room Team (as disclosed by pro tour stringers such as the Priority One team members), cosmetic on it currently is the Pro Staff Six.One 95, it is weighted about 12.oz strung with a 16X19 string pattern. He is sponsored by Nike wearing the brand apparel and the Nike Zoom Vapor Tour 9 shoes which are also Federer's shoes of choice.

Career statistics

Main article: Grigor Dimitrov career statistics

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# P# DNQ A Z# PO G S B NMS NTI P NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (P#) preliminary round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; (G) gold, (S) silver or (B) bronze Olympic/Paralympic medal; (NMS) not a Masters tournament; (NTI) not a Tier I tournament; (P) postponed; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record. To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated at the conclusion of a tournament or when the player's participation has ended.

Current through to the 2013 French Open.

Tournament 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A Q1 2R 2R 1R 0 / 3 2–3 40.00
French Open A A 1R 2R 3R 0 / 3 3–3 50.00
Wimbledon 1R A 2R 2R 0 / 3 2–3 40.00
US Open Q2 A 1R 1R 0 / 2 0–2 00.00
Win–Loss 0–1 0–0 2–4 3–4 2–2 0 / 11 7–11 38.89

References

  1. ^ Tennis – ATP World Tour – Tennis Players – Grigor Dimitrov. ATP World Tour (1991-05-16). Retrieved on 2011-10-11.
  2. ^ "Григор Димитров в топ 30 на световния тенис". Retrieved April 22, 2013.
  3. ^ "Гришо спечели над 1 млн. долара от наградни фондове". Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  4. "Sharapova, Dimitrov linked again". Retrieved January 7, 2013.
  5. "His lucky charm! Maria Sharapova embraces rising tennis star Grigor Dimitrov as they celebrate his biggest win yet". Daily Mail. May 9, 2013.
  6. Will Captures Orange Bowl 16s Singles Title. United States Tennis Association. May 25, 2008
  7. Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships. Eddieherr.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-11.
  8. "Блестящ Григор Димитров спечели и US Open" (in Bulgarian). sportal.bg. September 7, 2008. Retrieved September 7, 2008.
  9. "ITF Junior Rankings". www.itftennis.com/juniors/. September 8, 2008. Retrieved September 8, 2008.
  10. First Challenger Title for Grigor Dimitrov. . Grigor Dimitrov. Retrieved on 2011-10-11.
  11. Lerpong Amsa-ngiam Game, set and match – Grisha's on the ball. The Nation. September 26, 2010
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External links

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Wimbledon boys' singles champions
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