Is Grigor Dimitrov the next Roger Federer?

Is Grigor Dimitrov the next Roger Federer?

  • Yes

    Votes: 44 23.5%

  • No

    Votes: 143 76.5%
  • Total voters
    187
BreakPoint

BreakPoint

Bionic Poster
Having just watched his incredible match against Tsonga at Wimbledon, I have to say a resounding - YES!! :)

What shotmaking from this kid!! He has just about every shot in the book and plays with such imagination and creativity. He has a monster forehand and an incredible one-handed backhand just like Federer! He can even hit those flick backhand passing shots a la Federer. He plays so much like Federer it's amazing! The only shot he doesn't have of Federer's, is the between the legs tweener passing shot, like he tried at 8-8 in the 4th set tiebreak (dumb move, BTW). But this guy had sets points to force a 5th set against Tsonga, who has been playing very well on grass recently (took out Nadal at Queens and was close to beating in-form Murray).

What's even more fascinating is that people used to call Federer the next Sampras as Federer is exactly 10 years younger than Sampras. Sampras was born in 1971 and Federer was born in 1981. Guess when Dimitrov was born? Yup, you guessed it - in 1991. Dimitrov is exactly 10 years younger than Federer! :shock:

So is Dimitrov the next Federer?
 
I remember somebody bringing up that goofy stat. Three players born in 71, 81, 91, all of them have 1 handed backhands. Sampras, Fed, Grigor. The stars may have aligned yet again to produce the next all court hero, but probably not. I do like him though!
 
BreakPoint said:
Having just watched his incredible match against Tsonga at Wimbledon, I have to say a resounding - YES!! :)

What shotmaking from this kid!! He has just about every shot in the book and plays with such imagination and creativity. He has a monster forehand and an incredible one-handed backhand just like Federer! He can even hit those flick backhand passing shots a la Federer. He plays so much like Federer it's amazing! The only shot he doesn't have of Federer's, is the between the legs tweener passing shot, like he tried at 8-8 in the 4th set tiebreak (dumb move, BTW). But this guy had sets points to force a 5th set against Tsonga, who has been playing very well on grass recently (took out Nadal at Queens and was close to beating in-form Murray).

What's even more fascinating is that people used to call Federer the next Sampras as Federer is exactly 10 years younger than Sampras. Sampras was born in 1971 and Federer was born in 1981. Guess when Dimitrov was born? Yup, you guessed it - in 1991. Dimitrov is exactly 10 years younger than Federer! :shock:

So is Dimitrov the next Federer?
Click to expand...

Dimitrov has poor footwork and anticipation which Federer does, Dimitrov's backhand is better than is forehand while Federer is the opposite. So no, Dimitrov is more like the next Gasquet or Youzhny.
 
Cesc Fabregas said:
Dimitrov has poor footwork and anticipation which Federer does, Dimitrov's backhand is better than is forehand while Federer is the opposite. So no, Dimitrov is more like the next Gasquet or Youzhny.
Click to expand...
It's not bad and I'm sure it'll improve. His footwork was pretty good today and grass is the toughest surface for great footwork. And Dimitrov has a pretty darn good forehand.
 
BreakPoint said:
No, that's why people used to say Young was the next McEnroe (he's also lefty and has great hands) because he was born exactly 30 years after McEnroe! :)
Click to expand...

You cannot be serious

Though I did notice Young can be quite an a-hole, so I guess I can see some similarities.
 
They are very similar. Dimitrov even uses the same racquet as Federer and his strokes look nearly identical; I haven't seen that backhand flick pass in some time.
 
r2473 said:
You cannot be serious

Though I did notice Young can be quite an a-hole, so I guess I can see some similarities.
Click to expand...
Yes, that's what people used to say about Donald Young when he was in his early teens. Even John McEnroe himself labeled Young - "The Next John McEnroe". :)
 
Ripster said:
They are very similar. Dimitrov even uses the same racquet as Federer and his strokes look nearly identical; I haven't seen that backhand flick pass in some time.
Click to expand...

Yea I found his apparel sponsor and racquet switching kind of amusing. Although he did switch from another mid so maybe it wasn't a huge adjustment period, and possibly even an improvement. Think Drak has pics that he used to use a MG prestige mid.
 
Frank Dancevic was the next Federer. Perhaps Dimitrov is the next Frank Dancevic.
 
You misspelled Olderror, but that's okay, common spelling mistake.

Expect to see Dimitrov achieve a career full of Federer vs Melzer 2011 MS1000 clay performances.
 
I hope he is because I like his game a lot, but I really doubt it.

10 years ago 19 year old Fed beat Sampras at Wimbledon. Today 19 (20?) year old Dimitrov lost to Tsonga. Those two feats don't exactly match up.
 
BigServer1 said:
I hope he is because I like his game a lot, but I really doubt it.

10 years ago 19 year old Fed beat Sampras at Wimbledon. Today 19 (20?) year old Dimitrov lost to Tsonga. Those two feats don't exactly match up.
Click to expand...
Sampras was over the hill by then while Tsonga is in his prime and on a hot streak.

Federer also lost in the 1st round of Wimbledon in 3 of the first 4 years that he played (the year he beat Sampras was the only time he went further).
 
BigServer1 said:
I hope he is because I like his game a lot, but I really doubt it.

10 years ago 19 year old Fed beat Sampras at Wimbledon. Today 19 (20?) year old Dimitrov lost to Tsonga. Those two feats don't exactly match up.
Click to expand...

If the Federer-Sampras match fortold the transference of the Wimbledon throne to Federer...

this Dimitrov-Tsonga match fortells of a perpetual bridesmaides to Tsonga level opponents in 500 & 250 series events.
 
BigServer1 said:
I hope he is because I like his game a lot, but I really doubt it.

10 years ago 19 year old Fed beat Sampras at Wimbledon. Today 19 (20?) year old Dimitrov lost to Tsonga. Those two feats don't exactly match up.
Click to expand...

Given how he pushed Tsonga today I think that bodes well for Grigor. There's no set time line for anyone to follow and he is still young.
 
man I sure hope he keeps improving. His forehand needs some work i.e placement and pace, but he's the only IHBH that looks good out there.

I was resigned to either watching paint drying or WTA-style 2HBH post-Fed. maybe there are other options now.
 
Pwned said:
Given how he pushed Tsonga today I think that bodes well for Grigor. There's no set time line for anyone to follow and he is still young.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I've liked Grigor since the first time I saw him play.

Regardless, I don't think he'll turn into a 16 time GS champion and world #1. I hope he can continue to improve and ultimately contend for titles, but I won't hold my breath.
 
BigServer1 said:
I agree with you. I've liked Grigor since the first time I saw him play.

Regardless, I don't think he'll turn into a 16 time GS champion and world #1. I hope he can continue to improve and ultimately contend for titles, but I won't hold my breath.
Click to expand...

Well how many of those are there? :) Quite rare. Hopefully he becomes a contender though.
 
BreakPoint said:
Sampras was over the hill by then while Tsonga is in his prime and on a hot streak.

Federer also lost in the 1st round of Wimbledon in 3 of the first 4 years that he played (the year he beat Sampras was the only time he went further).
Click to expand...

I'll give you Fed's inconsistencies early on, but Sampras had won 4 straight Wimbledon's when he lost to Federer.
 
He does not seem very natural (too robotic). He seems to have gone out of his way to duplicate everything Federer.

He may crack the top 5 at some point, but I do not see him winning more than 2-3 slams, which is very good for most guys.
 
tennisdad65 said:
He does not seem very natural (too robotic). He seems to have gone out of his way to duplicate everything Federer.
Click to expand...

This. That 8-8 tiebreak tweener made it awfully obvious. Come on, it's fine that you want to be like Fed and his results, but don't be such a tryhard.
 
I was at the match today, and it was very fun to watch (except for those pesky little showers!).

As for Dimitrov, he looked pretty good. I have to agree with the people who say his movemet isn't up to scratch, and I don't think he has the mental or matchplay skills Federer has, although he's young so that could change.
 
PeterPanda said:
Depends are you talking about fed's ranking or his playing style.
Click to expand...
Both playing style and a consistent Slam contender. :)

Federer needed to be a serve and volleyer (when he was young) and have a 1HBH to be the next Sampras so the next Federer needs to also have a 1HBH and be an all-court player. :)
 
BigServer1 said:
I'll give you Fed's inconsistencies early on, but Sampras had won 4 straight Wimbledon's when he lost to Federer.
Click to expand...
But hadn't won anything in a year. He did lose to George Bastl the following year. :(

Federer had also dreamed of taking on Sampras on Centre Court at Wimbledon ever since he was a kid so he was extra motivated to take down the King of Wimbledon. I don't think Dimitrov has ever dreamed of playing Tsonga on Court 1. :)
 
Agree with a lot of what is said here... here are my thoughts

- hes skinny as hell..especially his legs..needs to put on 10-15 pounds of solid muscle

- hes slow in his first step and recovers slow when he hits a big shot. maybe hes expecting an outright winner but he got burned a couple of times today not recovering fast enough when he ripped a couple of forehands from outside the tram lines.

- Breakpoint suggested that he was able to hit the Federer patented flick cc BH.. I disagree... his technique on that shot is horrible... he seems to be wanting to use his shoulder for that shot when that shot is all wrist. NOT ONCE was he able to get the angle on that shot. he needs to ring Lungren and ask for a favor and get a hitting session booked with roger and learn that shot off him.

- shot selection needs some work. he was going for too much on his passing shots especially.

- Came back after both rain delays and looked flat. Took time to get going again. Concentration issues maybe?

Having said all that, lets look at the positives...

- of all the young guys coming up, he has the most weapons. Leaves tomic, harrison and others in the dust TBH.

- footwork seems fundamentally sound. just needs to be quicker with it.

- awesome serve

- awesome forehand

- awesome backhand

- Very good net game..still needs work tho but solid base.. was hitting nice deep volleys.

- Good overhead

- Very good to watch...pleasing on the eye.

- Seems hungry and didn't go away when he could have very easily.

- Break point conversion was disappointing and could very well be what decided the match today.


All in all, he is now in my top 5 players to watch..god bless him and long live the 1 handed backhand.
 
he wont be the next federer most likely. federer is unique and talent like him appears maybe once in a 100 years. but he will be very successful and i'll always be pulling for him (unless he's playing roger of course ;) )
 
sonicare said:
- hes slow in his first step and recovers slow when he hits a big shot. maybe hes expecting an outright winner but he got burned a couple of times today not recovering fast enough when he ripped a couple of forehands from outside the tram lines.
- Breakpoint suggested that he was able to hit the Federer patented flick cc BH.. I disagree... his technique on that shot is horrible... he seems to be wanting to use his shoulder for that shot when that shot is all wrist. NOT ONCE was he able to get the angle on that shot. he needs to ring Lungren and ask for a favor and get a hitting session booked with roger and learn that shot off him.
Click to expand...
You must have missed that BH flick passing shot he made in the game at the end of the 4th set to break Tsonga back. It had so much angle on it that Tsonga dove full out for it but could not reach it, and Tsonga is pretty good at hitting those kind of volleys.

I think he's just not used to playing on grass. That's why he found it difficult to recover after hitting a big shot because the grass is very slippery. Everyone has been slipping on the grass this week.
 
BreakPoint said:
You must have missed that BH flick passing shot he made in the game at the end of the 4th set to break Tsonga back. It had so much angle on it that Tsonga dove full out for it but could not reach it, and Tsonga is pretty good at hitting those kind of volleys.

I think he's just not used to playing on grass. That's why he found it difficult to recover after hitting a big shot because the grass is very slippery. Everyone has been slipping on the grass this week.
Click to expand...

Actually..I did miss it..I thought they were gonna come back tomorrow after it was 3-0 in the 4th set. DAMMIT. But you gotta admit, before that, he tried that shot a few times and it was completely off base and the slow mo replays afterwards looked downright terrible.

Movement could be down to just the grass... you are right.

All in all, we have him for the next 5-6 years hopefully at the very top..cant wait to see how he develops.
 
It seems what Dimitrov really needs is a couple of years with Peter Lundgren.

Wawa wont cut it in the end so Lundgren should move to a player who has issues which he has shown he can work on... a la early Federer.
 
Bobby Jr said:
It seems what Dimitrov really needs is a couple of years with Peter Lundgren.

Wawa wont cut it in the end so Lundgren should move to a player who has issues which he has shown he can work on... a la early Federer.
Click to expand...

Lundgren was with Dimitrov.....
 
He's gonna need to make major strides quickly if he wants to be the next Federer. Federer was a month shy of 22 when he broke through at Wimbledon. Dimitrov is 20.

He has an attractive game but he has nowhere near the court coverage/explosiveness of Federer. He needs to work on his legs if he wants to realize his potential.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

N
Is Grigor Dimitrov the next Roger Federer ?
2
Replies
78
Views
12K
Backspin1183
Backspin1183
cork_screw
Next Federer
Replies
17
Views
1K
darthpwner
darthpwner
guanzishou
Philippoussis Kyrgios Sampras Federer Dimitrov
Replies
4
Views
538
Jackuar
Jackuar
Dimitrov_Fan
The Grigor Dimitrov Fan Thread
4 5 6
Replies
273
Views
33K
The Aceserver
T
A
Dimitrov- Federer
Replies
41
Views
3K
Nuclear Warhead Sinner
N
Back
Top