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Bionic Poster
Dimitrov, Raonic Reflect On Wimbledon Exits
Jul032015
Semi-finalists at Wimbledon last year, Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic suffer set-backs
They were pegged as the future of the top of tennis early on in their careers, and last year at Wimbledon, Grigor Dimitrov and Milos Raonic reached the semi-finals, proving the future had met the present.
Dimitrov achieved his best Grand Slam result by reaching the final four at the All England Club, defeating defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray in straight sets in the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic, one step from the final. The Bulgarian began to solidify his chances for what many people believed he could achieve – a spot in the “Big Four”.
“Last year was a pretty intense year for me,” said Dimitrov. “Everything was quite intense for me to get into those rounds; quarter-finals, semi-finals… To come back the following year, to repeat all that, it's never easy because after you put quite a bit of pressure on yourself to do good and even better. It's been a lot of ups and downs so far.
“I think last year was an eye‑opener for me. It showed me what I was capable of. I fell into a rhythm that I always wanted to, but I knew it was very hard to sustain."
Proving how hard it was to sustain, Dimitrov suffered a third-round exit from the All England Club on Friday when Richard Gasquet defeated the No. 11 seed in straight sets.
“I just didn't play good,” said Dimitrov. “I had too many opportunities early on in the first set to get back the break. Then I think [the] second set was also pretty close; I had chances. He was playing good tennis today as well. Once you miss those opportunities, it's really tough to come back.
“I'm not going to hide my disappointment, but at the same time, I'm not putting my head down because still it's been a bit of a progress for me.”
Dimitrov, who lost to Murray in the Round of 16 in Melbourne earlier this year and was ousted in the first round of Roland Garros by Jack Sock, said a lack of confidence was “probably” what contributed to his third-round loss. He hopes to turn things around for the U.S. hard-court season.
“Right now things are not going the way I want to,” he said. “There [are] a lot of things that I feel that I need to take care of in general… Obviously now I have a bit of time to rest. It's going to be an exciting time for me to start in the U.S. I need to stay positive; just get excited again.”
Hampered by injury, Raonic saw the same fate as fellow 2014 semi-finalist Dimitrov, losing in a re-match of last year’s quarter-final to Nick Kyrgios 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(3) 6-3.
“I'm just dealing with a lot of things,” said Raonic. “I still have some discomfort in my feet… The more I got through the match, the more difficult it was.
“There wasn't a place it wasn't [bothering me]… First, ankle, then the hip, and then the back. Then when those things aren't working, you just put too much pressure on your shoulder, and then your shoulder hurts.”
Raonic was bidding to record his 200th ATP World Tour match win but, more than that, the Canadian looking to improve upon last year's Wimbledon semi-final showing (l. to Federer).
“It's disappointing. I wanted this tournament to last longer, but it is what it is.”
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/wimbledon-2015-friday1-dimitrov-raonic-reaction
