In Focus: Grigor Dimitrov

Back in 2008 when Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer for his first Wimbledon crown another European was making his name in the boy’s tournament. Fast forward 6 years and he made it to the quarter finals of the Australian open and the irony here was that he was facing Rafael Nadal. Some co-incidence. The person was none other than Grigor Dimitrov.
Often compared to Roger Federer for his one handed back hand and even christened the name “Baby FED” he has long way to prove his claim to that name. Grigor Dimitrov is an all court player with a heavy emphasis on the base line play. His favourite shot is the backhand down the line and his favourite surfaces are the hard court and the grass. Having said this his weakness lies in the return of serve and general fitness. Two major sacrilege in today’s game. Without a strong return of serve he cannot challenge the top 15 players and without fitness he won’t have the stamina to outlast them. Seems doom and gloom.
Not quite. Andy Roddick had a comparatively weak return but he did manage to break into the top 5 quite. However his service was the best at that moment in time. Grigor Dimitrov needs to compensate like Roddick did. However the lack of general fitness is not quite acceptable. If you look at the pace and duration at which the game is played its quite unbelievable. The likes of Nadal and Djokovic are epitome of fitness. One is the bull from Spain, the other with the capacity to embarrass even a marathon runner. Djokovic for his part doesn’t consume gluten in his diet. This helps him lasts longer in matches. The point that I’m trying to make here is that talent-wise the top 10 players are not that disproportionately gifted, it depends on how dedicated a person remains to his cause. Having pointed this out I believe he is still finding his game, his niche. He is 23 y.o. and his best years still in front of him. However the era he’ll be competing the competition seems stiff. With the likes of Djokovic and Nadal and Andy Murray and the emergence of Stanislas Wawrinka amongst other players he has his work cut out. A piece of advice would be to keep working both on his game and his mental resilience. Only then will he be ready to win Grand Slam titles against Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
There remains a spotlight on his personal life though. Dating Maria Sharapova would be dream come true for any person but not so much when you are trying to build a career in tennis. She still remains the darling of the tennis paparazzi and might not afford him the personal privacy that is so important for quiet contemplation and self-evaluation.
To sum it all up Grigor’s career would be an interesting one. We shall rejoice his victories and shed a tear or two on his loss and move on. Such is Tennis. The onus is on him now to capture our imagination with his tennis.