Dimitrov's main problems are lack of firepower and lack of speed

[thomasferrett]

Watching Dimitrov play, it's blatantly obvious that his shots lack heaviness, pace and power. Everything sits up waiting to be attacked. He has no finishing power on either wing. He looks like a taller Ferrer except I think Ferrer hits with more spin at the equivalent pace, thus he hits more powerfully overall.

Also, Dimitrov's lack of speed is pretty apparent. He rarely can sprint fast enough to retrieve even a poorly hit dropshot, and struggles massively with defence in general. He has only about half of the strength 'in the corners' (deep in the forehand or backhand corner) that a Djokovic or Murray has.

I'm kinda tired of people saying that Dimitrov's problems are with his mental attitude (mental toughness/commitment/distraction...etc...) when it's pretty clear that his problems are much deeper than that. He is fundamentally not strong or athletic enough to hit big shots or to move around the court fast enough to be a successful player. Even if he had prime Nadal mental strength, he wouldn't do any better than he's doing now.

Unfortunately I think that's just his build/physique. He's just too physically weak and I don't think any amount of training or gym work will change that.

Unless he can magically increase his firepower by 50% and his speed by 75%, I don't see him reaching further than the 3rd round of a Slam ever again in his career.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

Lack of speed you must be kidding the man runs crazy fast - lack of pace in his shots you are probably right
He also needs to work on his strategy on the court, shot selection... i really dont understand how a player with such skills fails to achieve more
2016....

 

[Legend of Borg]

what do you mean by no amount of training will fix his power problems?

Fed has a similar build but he just rekt Stanimal and some French guy in straight sets with tons of winners

explain?

 

[Legend of Borg]

also, nice to see that as usual TT knows better than top ranked players and coaches in the world about what they need to do

never ceases to be amusing

 

[Bukmeikara]

Are you ready to bet on "Dimitrov would never pass the 3rd round"

 

[SpinToWin]

Dimitrov lacks power? And Speed!? Wut!?!? LOL

Somebody needs to watch his match against Murray at Cincinatti again.

Dimitrov has ample firepower off the forehand and amazing footspeed. His problem comes in a lack of tactics/shot selection and a terrible mental game. He also has an inconsistent backhand which he does not know how to use effectively.

 

[TheMusicLover]

LOL, nice try OP, but FAIL. Dimitrov's main problem is his lack of brains!

 

[rossi46]

LOL, nice try OP, but FAIL. Dimitrov's main problem is his lack of brains!

Bang on, faeces between the ears.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

''increase his speed by 75%"

So basically if he runs 100m in 12 seconds he should work hard to run it in what...under 9 seconds? Nice.

 

[thomasferrett]

So basically if he runs 100m in 12 seconds he should work hard to run it in what...under 9 seconds? Nice.

I know. It's basically impossible which is why I said no amount of training will fix Dimitrov's lack of raw skill and athleticism.

The problem is NOT mental - it's much more fundamental than that.

 

[6-3 6-0]

He just seems a bit sloppy sometimes at executing shots (but Federer was like that before he hit his prime).

Dimitrov is almost 24.5 years now, Fed already won 6-7 slams by then. Dimitrov doesn't have the heart of a champion or the mentality a champion required to beat the elites and win the biggest of the titles. It may have been do with tactics, but he changed coaches (like Rasheed for example) few times and it didn't help. Guy is simply overrated and was overhyped due to the similarity with Fed's game.

 

[Deleted member 410229]

I actually think it's a wise thing Dimitrov is staying away from amphetamines. Why would you encourage him to use them?

 

[6-3 6-0]

You can't compare like that because Dimitrov would have to overcome Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, and Federer. These 4 guys alone have more Slams than there is gold in fort knox, lol Federer only had to overcome Hewitt and Roddick, a whopping 3 Slams to their credit.

Do you think Dimitrov would've beaten Roddicks and Hewitts? I think not although its a hypothetical situation.
Dimitrov isn't making a mark now, given that Federer is 34, Nadal had his first slamless year and he's still losing to Murray (twice already in 2015 - AO and Cincy).

 

[wangs78]

I agree with the lack of speed comment but I think the better way to put it is he does not have the best movement that you see from the top guys. Dimi is definitely an athletic guy but when I watch him play his movement reminds me a bit of a giraffe or antelope. Spring-legged but lacking in torque. When he changes direction on the run, it looks like a huge effort goes into changing direction whereas with the other top guys they just look more balanced and in the point. With Dimi there is that split second when he looks like he's about to slip and fall. To be fair he has already improved a LOT since he was 19-20, but I think this will be an issue that holds him back in his career.

 

[Deleted member 512391]

what do you mean by no amount of training will fix his power problems?

Fed has a similar build but he just rekt Stanimal and some French guy in straight sets with tons of winners

explain?

Maybe he's referring to his forehand technique, but anyway...Dimi's forehand is probably top 10, so I don't think he lacks of power. Also, he can drive his backhand (as we saw in the Murray match at Cincinnati) and make a serious damage with it.

I guess OP is just trolling, but who knows.

 

[6-3 6-0]

Hewitt once own Roger Federer, boasting a 7-2 record over him. It took Roger 5 years on the circuit before he reached his prime. There were generally less obstacles in Roger's path. This era is much much much tougher than Roger's early years.

Dimitrov is not Roger Federer no matter how people like to compare them.

Dimitrov certainly isn't but he hasn't even reached 1 masters Final let alone slam's. Only Djokovic is in prime now and if Dimitrov was that good, he would regularly contested in title matches, be it in 500s or any higher tournaments. Like I said, he is massively overrated. Comparing him to Federer in any way is an insult to the great man.

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

I agree with the lack of speed comment but I think the better way to put it is he does not have the best movement that you see from the top guys. Dimi is definitely an athletic guy but when I watch him play his movement reminds me a bit of a giraffe or antelope. Spring-legged but lacking in torque. When he changes direction on the run, it looks like a huge effort goes into changing direction whereas with the other top guys they just look more balanced and in the point. With Dimi there is that split second when he looks like he's about to slip and fall. To be fair he has already improved a LOT since he was 19-20, but I think this will be an issue that holds him back in his career.

Nailed it. Lacks the stability and natural quickness in lateral transition, and though it has improved in the last couple of years, he finds it hard to sustain.

And... Dimitrov is an overrated athlete end.

 

[6-3 6-0]

When Federer was in his prime, say 2004-2007, his only challenge was then clay-court specialist Rafa Nadal. The field was fairly weak as Hewitt was fading and Roddick was overrated (he was once own by both Hewitt and Federer).

Dimitrov have so many obstacles ahead of him. If he doesn't have a breakthrough year in 2016, I'm not sure if he's ever gonna come around. He might end up like Jo W. Tsonga at best, which is not bad but not reaching the promise land.

Personally I think this field is much weaker. A 34 year is the only challenge for the #1, Dimitrov still doesn't get anywhere close to beat either of them. Hewitt during '04-'05 made 2 slam finals and 2 SFs and was plagued by injuries in. '06. Dimitrov is nowhere near that. Then you had Roddick, who was reaching Wimbledon finals in '04-'05 and later Nadal contested the Wimbledon finals. Current Nadal doesn't even go past the 4th round of Wimbledon. I won't talk about Murray since he got beaten by Federer (who Dimitrov is getting compared to) anyway.


If you mean by obstacles, the Andersons, the Kukushkins, the Gasquets (against whom Dimitrov is losing) lemme tell you that Federer would've owned them during prime.

 

[Legend of Borg]

Nailed it. Lacks the stability and natural quickness in lateral transition, and though it has improved in the last couple of years, he finds it hard to sustain.

And... Dimitrov is an overrated athlete end.

NUUUUUUU

y u do dis?

OTOH i think gregor is a pretty cool guy. eh blows matchpoints and doesn't afraid of anything

 

[BeatlesFan]

Why is Dimitrov even discussed here on the eve of a slam final? He has few fans, and apparently, every last one of them must congregate here. He's never winning a major, he's a total non-factor in slams, he's mentally weak and no without Shriekapova as his trophy GF, the media will ignore him even further.

The final of a major is being contested tomorrow and any tennis fan has time to ruminate over Dimitrov!?

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

I agree with the lack of speed comment but I think the better way to put it is he does not have the best movement that you see from the top guys. Dimi is definitely an athletic guy but when I watch him play his movement reminds me a bit of a giraffe or antelope. Spring-legged but lacking in torque. When he changes direction on the run, it looks like a huge effort goes into changing direction whereas with the other top guys they just look more balanced and in the point. With Dimi there is that split second when he looks like he's about to slip and fall. To be fair he has already improved a LOT since he was 19-20, but I think this will be an issue that holds him back in his career.

I dont think that is a main issue to be a consistent top 10 player, look at Berdych...alright Berdych has more power but he is also more one dimensional, never has a B plan and never will. Dimitrov is more versatile IMO so yeah for me the main issue is in the mental department / shot selection.

 

[Jaitock1991]

also, nice to see that as usual TT knows better than top ranked players and coaches in the world about what they need to do

never ceases to be amusing

And yet, they usually accuse those players for lacking self-consciousness. Hilarious

 

[Nathaniel_Near]

NUUUUUUU

y u do dis?

OTOH i think gregor is a pretty cool guy. eh blows matchpoints and doesn't afraid of anything

Yeah. I still support Grigor and he's one of my favourite players but right now he's severely lacking confidence and I don't think he's quite as good an athlete as many think he is. He has tremendous tennis skills (I think his skills are more impressive than his athleticism) but he doesn't put those skills together in a logical and coherent way at the moment. He needs a coach who can bring direction and structure to his skill set. There's a lot of time for good old Greg, still.

 

[tipsa...don'tlikehim!]

Hewitt should coach him instead of Kyrgios, together they could win some big trophies