Grigor Dimitrov: “I still believe I can come back to the top...I would say that's my primary goal right now."

Lozo1016

Lozo1016

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Refreshed Grigor Dimitrov plots return back to Top 10 as US Open campaign begins at Citi Open | Tennis.com

The former world No. 3 recovered from a Wimbledon leg injury and takes a philosophical approach to this next stage in his career after a three-set win over Adrian Mannarino.
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“I still believe I can come back to the top,” insists the No. 5 seed after a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 victory over Adrian Mannarino. “I would say that's my primary goal right now. I have been able to be Top 20 for quite some time. I was Top 10 for quite some time. I was No. 3 in the world.

“The ultimate goal that stays there for me is to absolutely come back to Top 10. I think it's super doable for me…I have gone through that process, and I know what it takes. I know that it's possible to do it again. It's going to come with consistency, but of course it's all up to me. I always have to reevaluate every time I play an event, a tournament. I have to see, ‘Okay, is my body capable of keep on going for another two weeks or not?’ or ‘How many tournaments I will play in order for me to be at my prime in six, seven weeks' time?’”
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“I mean, I know how to play. I have won tournaments, I have won big tournaments, I have beaten all the players. So, I'd say I have to be able to withdraw some of that experience that I have and use maybe some of that to get better, to find that extra edge.”
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“If I have the good consistency, why not go even bigger with the Slams? I have been there, I have done that. I know how to play long matches. I have so much sort of in the bank that why not get something out of that? I think, again, you stay healthy and you give yourself a chance every time you're out there.
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Good to see Dimitrov still has confidence.
 
Injuries were/are his downfall. Watching him practice when he was injured (shoulder), was inspiring. Ran after every ball as hard as anyone I've seen. Signed balls for my kids afterwards, too (as did Agassi, who was coaching him at the time).
 
thepaint19 said:
The way people were hyping him early in his career, he probably had expectations of being the next Federer or at least a regular slam winner :happydevil:
Its an achievement that he's stayed so level-headed and positive despite such a depressing outcome.....
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They used to call him 'Baby Federer.'

It's never a good idea to have high expectations for a player that has yet to prove themself.

Irregardless of whether they have potential or not.

Donald Young, Milos Raonic Grigor Dimitrov, Bernard Tomic, Nick Kyrgios, and Alexander Zverev have all been busts.

They were hyped to the moon at an early age and they couldn't live up to the expectations of being the next Roger Federer.

It's wrong to put that kind of an expectation on them because they haven't been in that position of winning a grand slam title.

You can't know how you will handle it until you've been there.
 
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CHillTennis said:
They used to call him 'Baby Federer.'

It's never a good idea to have high expectations for a player that has yet to prove themself.

Irregardless of whether they have potential or not.

Donald Young, Milos Raonic Grigor Dimitrov, Bernard Tomic, Nick Kyrgios, and Alexander Zverev have all been busts.

They were hyped to the moon at an early age and they couldn't live up to the expectations of being the next Roger Federer.

It's wrong to put that kind of an expectation on them because they haven't been in that position of winning a grand slam title.

You can't know how you will handle it until you've been there.
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Zverev is definitely not a bust

Even Kyrgios isn't a bust compared to Tomic, who's absolutely a bust
 
he thinks way too much of himself....it is clear as water that he is not made for this era....this is an era of brutal baseline hitting....his arms are too long for consistent hitting from the ground, often sprays errors pulling the trigger at wrong moments in points.....his tennis would have worked maybe in the 80s or earlier, but i was curious to see what he would achieve if they sped up the courts again after all that complaining in 2011 and 2012.....still he should be happy with all the millions he made so far.....
 
Lozo1016 said:
www.tennis.com

Refreshed Grigor Dimitrov plots return back to Top 10 as US Open campaign begins at Citi Open | Tennis.com

The former world No. 3 recovered from a Wimbledon leg injury and takes a philosophical approach to this next stage in his career after a three-set win over Adrian Mannarino.
www.tennis.com www.tennis.com
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tumblr_mto7k9vvOE1rt2roho1_400.gif
 
Rosstour said:
Zverev is definitely not a bust

Even Kyrgios isn't a bust compared to Tomic, who's absolutely a bust
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Zverev was touted as being the next big thing in the game.

If you go back to 2017 / '18 people said this guy was going to win a lot of grand slam titles.

I predicted that he would have atleast three by 2022.

The same goes for Nick. Everyone thought this guy was going to win multiple grand slam titles.

I'll be the first to admit that I thought this myself.

But what we couldn't see at the time was that their abusive nature off of the court would ultimately take them down.

Kyrgios and Zverev were both way overhyped. But I feel that they had the potential to achieve something.

This is why it's a mistake to jump on the bandwagon of a new player.

Even if the are extremely talented, it's still unknowable as to how they will react in a grand slam final until they are there.
 
CHillTennis said:
They used to call him 'Baby Federer.'

It's never a good idea to have high expectations for a player that has yet to prove themself.

Irregardless of whether they have potential or not.

Donald Young, Milos Raonic Grigor Dimitrov, Bernard Tomic, Nick Kyrgios, and Alexander Zverev have all been busts.

They were hyped to the moon at an early age and they couldn't live up to the expectations of being the next Roger Federer.

It's wrong to put that kind of an expectation on them because they haven't been in that position of winning a grand slam title.

You can't know how you will handle it until you've been there.
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Nothing wrong with hyping young players with great potential. They can't all become all time greats, some of them are destined to become busts and it isn't simply because they were hyped. There are plenty of examples of young players with great potential who ended up fulfilling that potential as well.
 
CHillTennis said:
Zverev was touted as being the next big thing in the game.

If you go back to 2017 / '18 people said this guy was going to win a lot of grand slam titles.

I predicted that he would have atleast three by 2022.

The same goes for Nick. Everyone thought this guy was going to win multiple grand slam titles.

I'll be the first to admit that I thought this myself.

But what we couldn't see at the time was that their abusive nature off of the court would ultimately take them down.

Kyrgios and Zverev were both way overhyped. But I feel that they had the potential to achieve something.

This is why it's a mistake to jump on the bandwagon of a new player.

Even if the are extremely talented, it's still unknowable as to how they will react in a grand slam final until they are there.
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No way Zverev can be considered a bust. Sure, he hasn't won as much as we would have expected based on how successful he was early in his career, but he is still having a great career. If not for his unfortunate ankle injury against Nadal at the French Open, he would likely have become the number 1 player in the world at some point this summer.

Kyrgios can be fairly be called a bust to this point, but there is still time to change that narrative around if he can build off reaching the Wimbledon final.
 
Prior to Covid he was actually making noticeable progress. Listen the age things is not as big. Isner, Agut some other guys making deep Slam runs well into their 30s. And Grigor is better and more experienced than them. I can certainly see deep runs in his 30s as Big 2 go away.
 
Given that he has only ended 2 seasons in the ATP top 16, and only 1 season in the ATP top 10, he actually has some decent individual results, winning both Cincy and the WTF as well as reaching the SF of 3/4 Majors.

He just was not consistent at all.
 
jhhachamp said:
No way Zverev can be considered a bust. Sure, he hasn't won as much as we would have expected based on how successful he was early in his career, but he is still having a great career. If not for his unfortunate ankle injury against Nadal at the French Open, he would likely have become the number 1 player in the world at some point this summer.

Kyrgios can be fairly be called a bust to this point, but there is still time to change that narrative around if he can build off reaching the Wimbledon final.
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Zverev was touted as being the successor to the Big 3. The next big thing in the men's game.

He's 25 years old now and doesn't have a grand slam title.

His career has been more comparable to Nikolay Davydenko, David Ferrer, or Marcelo Rios than Murray or Wawrinka.

Zverev was a bust and Nick Kyrgios was a MEGA bust.

Sorry to tell you mate.
 
CHillTennis said:
Zverev was touted as being the successor to the Big 3. The next big thing in the men's game.
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By some, yes. Plenty of other people didn't tout him as a successor to the Big 3 though. You are choosing the narrative that fits your current conclusion and ignoring all evidence to the contrary.

CHillTennis said:
He's 25 years old now and doesn't have a grand slam title.
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So what, that doesn't mean he is a bust. Maybe he hasn't achieved as much as people expected of him at this point, but 25 is still very young in today's game and he has achieved quite a bit so far.

CHillTennis said:
His career has been more comparable to Nikolay Davydenko, David Ferrer, or Marcelo Rios than Murray or Wawrinka.
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This is true (except Wawrinka, he doesn't belong in this group of players). Davydenko, Ferrer, and Rios all had excellent careers and Zverev has essentially matched them at 25 years old. That's no small feat.

CHillTennis said:
Zverev was a bust and Nick Kyrgios was a MEGA bust.
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Zverev was not a bust. Kyrgios was a bust, but I'm not sure anymore after his Wimbledon final. If he can build off that, he can change his story.

Sorry to tell you mate.
 
Whenever someone says "so-and-so should be in the top 10," I ask whom are they replacing in the top 10. I just don't see it with the current top 10. It's brutal.
 
He did as good as he could have the last few years to try and force himself back into slam contention.

Felt like 2024 US Open was his big opportunity to reach his first final. Draw had opened up for him, Djokovic and Raz out early. Medvedev out QF. He straight setted everyone until R4 then took down Rublev to win his section. Then had Tiafoe and Fritz en route to a showdown with Sinner. It’s a shame he succumbed to the injury, he could’ve beaten both and made the F. Whether he wins it or not, making his first slam final at 33 would’ve been special.

He gets a lot of crap on here but outside major winners Dimitrov’s resume is incredibly good and he’s backed it up with solid longevity.
 
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