Is Dimitrov the real deal or is he just a gimmicky Federer impersonator?

[Razoredge]

What do you guys think? Does this kid have the talent to win major titles or is he just a clown doing his best impersonation of the GOAT.

[SwankPeRFection]

I'll take his job any day of the week. lol

Let's face it, he has some nice shots. Bottom line is, what he's missing is mental strength and physical conditioning. Let's not forget how much Fed tripped over his own feet when he was young. Dimitrov has the potential, but I think he's missing that camp skill that Fed had in his corner early on.

[Colin]

He has potential, but he's not a match for the top players now. However, once the top players have stopped dominating, who's going to take over? He has a shot of being in there if he works on his mentality.

[The Meat]

Like what everyone else has said, Dimitrov has great potential. However his footwork and shot selection is nowhere near as good as Federer which is essential to Federer's game. Also sometimes he hits shots that are too flashy during key points of the match, like those sliding splits when he's outwide.

Highlights of his match with Almagro from the AO, look how far he is from the baseline when he's defending and also how he hits regular rally shots with not enough angles.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyrGxwHEXcg

Compared to Federer's shot selection against Del Potro
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqoRGR4aMS8

I only see him going up to Kohlschriber's ranking at this rate.

[ManFed]

He lacks that genius part that Roger has and that Grigor just never is going to be close of having.

[Xizel]

His forehand isn't as explosive as Fed and Fed's off-forehand is his money shot even as he moves left he still hits it with considerable power.

[Russeljones]

He needs time and work in the gym to become a genuine contender. He is not a Fed impersonator, he's said it himself and I don't see any reason to believe otherwise. Who would want to pile that much pressure on themselves on top of what pundits and experts already did during his teen years?

[SoBad]

Dimitrov is one of the most talented players of his generation who doesn't give a rat's ... about various retired hacks who piled up slams in prior weak eras.

[timnz]

As wonderful as his topspin backhand is, he doesn't know how to hit a backhand slice. His body position, balance etc is all wrong on the shot.

[Crisp]

Give him time, and cross your fingers cause we will need some gun one handed backhand players so that it doesn't go the way of the dinosaur on tour.

[Devilito]

i'll take Rampras over Grigorer. At least Rampras wins matches once in a while

[loci]

He's never going to win a Grand Slam.

[Sabratha]

He has potential, but so do many other players. He won't be winning a major in the foreseeable future.

[PhrygianDominant]

Grigor is lame. He obviously did copy Federer, at least to begin with. The similiarities are too striking, there is no other reasonable explanation. He copied him so much so that he even has Federer's deficiencies on the backhand side, without benefiting from Federer's hand eye coordination and movement. Late arm straightening, really high takeback, too much wrist, etc....The result is a very weak ball that is regularly left short. Really weak.

That was my impression from the matches I have seen of his, so lately I have avoided his matches. The Federer impersonation creeps me out.

[winstonplum]

To answer the question, He is a gimmicky Federer impersonator, which is quite weird.

[forzamilan90]

Not fully polished but if he works on his weaknesses he will be in contention. He said it himself his goal is #1. Вярвам в тебе Гриша!!!!

[dominikk1985]

He has very good technique just like fed but so did tommy haas who never really was a top guy.

he might become fed II but he just as well could become Haas II.

[single_handed_champion]

Not impressed with him. He lacks oomph on all his shots and his topspin backhand while solid, is hardly a deadly weapon and I do think it is too mechanical a shot i.e. he cannot improvise like Roger while he will face all the same struggles as one poster said. Also, he has not shown serious potential in the sense of winning big matches of any kind yet.

As for Tommy Haas, he was always a more offensive-minded player with all the shots, even if he is Federer-lite in every sense. He got to no.2 though. I doubt Dimitrov will ever get that high.

[merwy]

Aren't you guys being too harsh on him? We know he's not going to be the next Federer or get 15 grand slams but he hasn't been that bad, right? He beat Berdych and gave some big guys trouble in important matches. He's one of the highest ranked young guys that we have and I think he has a better technique than the rest of them. Hopefully he will come through in the next couple of years. I do agree that he's impersonating Federer.. But hey, luckily it's just his sponsors and technique. Not his personality or appearance. I'm also glad he doesn't claim to be the "new Federer" or something.

[PhrygianDominant]

He is one of the highest ranked of the new young guys. I just wish, for that same very reason, he had an original take on the game, something we hadn't seen before. I just think he isn't realizing his own potential because he is trying to shoehorn somebody else's solutions to technical problems into his game and onto his body. Thusly he is denying us the pleasure of seeing something new, and uniquely his. His copying of Federer, is thereore lame. I don't trust it, and I don't like it.

Harsh though it may be, it's just the opinion of a weekend hacker. He's a big boy, he can handle it.