Grigor Dimitrov

[Art]

Australian Open 2011: Grigor Dimitrov forgets teenage troubles to aim for stars



Tennis is a simple game for intelligent people, according to Grigor Dimitrov, the sport’s highest-ranked teenager, and a Bulgarian with the sort of hyper-confidence that might just propel him towards the elite.

And yet intelligent people can do stupid things, and for all the excitement about Dimitrov’s future, you can put your fingers in your ears and there is still no avoiding the white noise of controversy about an incident in his recent past.
He came off court in Helsinki at his final tournament of last season and shoved an umpire in the chest with both hands.
Despite the threatening, provocative behaviour from John McEnroe, Serena Williams and others over the years, they never touched an official.

Dimitrov, who at 19 is the most gifted of a new generation of players who could soon be challenging Andy Murray for grand slam titles, is extremely sorry for what he did.

For every confident prediction that Dimitrov has been making — that he intends to break into the top 50 this season, that he has the talent to win multiple grand slam titles, that he sees himself as a future world No 1 — he has had to make a couple of apologies for how he behaved in Finland.

Dimitrov has been fined and now he should be forgiven. Whenever anyone now describes Dimitrov as 'dangerous’, it should be in relation to his abilities on court, not whether he can control his emotions near umpires.
“It was a mistake what I did, and I have really learned from it,” said Dimitrov, who is ranked 108 in the world. “I should not have done it, and I have apologised.

"I will never do anything like that again, or even think about doing anything like that. I want to put that in the past, though, and move on.”

Nicknamed 'Prime-Time’, Dimitrov is not someone who intends to spend his tennis life in the margins. Soon he could be best known for his shot-making, not for the hoo-ha in Helsinki. As a junior, Dimitrov won the boys’ title at Wimbledon and the US Open and held the No 1 ranking.

Peter Lundgren, who is Dimitrov’s former coach, and who also used to work with Roger Federer, once said of the Eastern European that he was more advanced than the Swiss had been at the same age, and that is not the sort of comment that is easily forgotten in the world’s locker-rooms and players’ lounges.
Perhaps it will be at this month’s Australian Open, which starts next Monday, that Dimitrov will announce his talent in style, as he is just one place away from gaining direct acceptance into the main draw, meaning that he needs one withdrawal to go into the pot. He could also go through qualifying.

Whatever happens at Melbourne Park, Dimitrov has big plans. “I definitely believe I can be the world No 1, that’s my main goal. I believe in my abilities, as when I get things right, things happen for me.

"I really believe that I can be the No 1, but for that to happen I probably need to win a couple of grand slams, and they are not going to fall from the sky. It is going to take time, and I need to keep working and improving my shots,” said Dimitrov, who spent the off season training in the Mauritius sunshine.

“I have a lot of goals for this season, and the most important is to stay healthy, but I think I can at least get into the top 50 this year.”

There are no obvious weaknesses in Dimitrov’s game. “It would be difficult to pick out one shot as my main strength, as I like all my shots, and I can do anything on any surface.

"In the future, I would like to be more creative and to do more of the unexpected on court. I can play on grass – when I won Junior Wimbledon, that was an unbelievable feeling, I could not believe that I had won the tournament as Wimbledon is like the holy place of tennis. I was the first Bulgarian to win a junior grand slam title,” he said.

Only six months ago, Dimitrov was outside the top 300. Changing his coach — firing Lundgren and hiring Peter McNamara — had quite an effect.

“Changing coach was a tough period but Peter has really helped me,” he said. “Peter didn’t change a lot of things. It has just been things such as having smarter practice sessions, and everything has been a learning curve.

“With Peter, everything started happening for me. I was winning and winning and winning. I went on a sensational run. It is hard for teenagers to make the breakthrough into the top 100, as everyone at the top level has played so many more matches, and has more experience.”

It was Dimitrov’s father who told him that tennis is a simple game for intelligent people.
“Those words are always in my head when I’m in a tough situation,” he said, “and he’s right, tennis is simple, but you have to think fast.”

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis ... stars.html

[Art]

A Grigor Dimitrov Moment



The two girls smiled at each other. Then they looked backed at Court 10, at the player in the yellow shirt with the silky one-handed backhand and the very familiar service motion and the easy way with a forehand winner. Then the girls looked at each other again. They smiled again. They were having a Grigor Dimitrov moment.

The Grigor Dimitrov Moment: It sounds like a bad lounge-band name. I can see it now: A tall man with a receding hairline and a black goatee is hunched over a saxophone in a half-empty basement bar in Philly or Prague. But no, a Dimitrov Moment is what we got in Melbourne on Monday. In front of those two smitten girls, as well as a fair number of tennis cognescenti, the 19-year-old Bulgarian won his first match at a Grand Slam by routing Andrey Golubev, an otherwise perfectly respectable pro who is currently ranked No. 36 in the world. It wasn’t just that Dimitrov beat Golubev like a drum, 6-1, 6-4, 6-2; it’s that he outclassed him. He was the elegant tennis aristocrat slumming it for a few moments with the clumsy hoi polloi.

Players win their first matches at Grand Slams all the time, of course. But Dimitrov hasn’t been just another player since 2008. That year he won junior Wimbledon and the U.S. Open back to back, turned pro, and was promptly pushed into the pole position among the contenders for Next Big Tennis Thing.

And that’s as far as he got until today. The two years since Dimitrov’s junior triumphs have been hard ones. He was lost on the Challenger circuit, playing in Thailand one week and Geneva the next. He dropped out of the Top 200. The early talk of a touring entourage faded. When I spoke to him by phone from somewhere between Katmandu and Timbuktu last year, he sounded humbled. “I just have to keep going and hope it turns around,” he said.

It turned around in 2010. Dimitrov began working with former doubles standout Peter McNamara of Australia. He won six Challengers. He moved into the Top 200, then the Top 150, then up to 105, which is where he started this tournament. He’s not talking about hopes anymore; he’s talking about goals. Big goals.

“We’re aiming high," Dimitrov said today. "We want to be in the Top 40 by the end of the year." Maybe he’ll get the old entourage together again, too.

What changed? Nothing too specific or miraculous, it seems. “I’m more mature on court now,” Dimitrov said. “I have to accept it didn’t come as fast. I know I have to take it step by step.”

But the new confidence hasn’t vanquished the old frustration just yet. Dimitrov shoved an umpire at a Challenger in Helsinki last month, but was not suspended.

“It’s something that happened,” said Dimitrov, who described himself as “not an easy person” all the time. “It will never happen again.”

The talent, the temper, the early professional disappointment. Does this lineup remind you of someone else? Yes, Dimitrov appears to be taking a page or two from Roger Federer. Make that three or four or five pages. The Bulgarian says Federer is his hero, and he’s clearly spent a good deal of time watching him play.

The similarities in their games are uncanny. The relaxed start and sudden upward burst on the serve. The long extension on the backhand, and the extra, easy snap of topspin on the forehand. Dimitrov even sets up for his backhand the same way as Federer. Both of them, when they have the time, turn their bodies to the net and place their feet far apart for balance.

It’s one thing to copy the mechanics. It’s another to get the results—to catch the spirit rather than just the letter of the Federer law. Dimitrov does that too, and he did it today to devastating effect. Both Dimitrov and Federer seem to play farther from their torsos than their opponents, with a sweep to their strokes that lets them get more of their arms and bodies into their shots—they get out their own way. Golubev was handcuffed by Dimitrov’s inside-out forehand, as well as his down the line backhand. At 4-2 in the third set, Dimitrov hit three returns of serve that landed on the baseline, and which Golubev dumped into the net. After the last one, Golubev shrugged as if to say, “Forget it. Nothing I can do about that. Get me out of here.”

Dimitrov moves with something of the ease of Federer, and as I said, his way of playing has that loose, high-class Federer sheen (whether he's actually as fast is yet to be determined). This begs the question: Did Dimitrov borrow some of his talent from Federer? Or did his mimicry hold him back from developing what would have been his own genius? You can’t just move like Federer because you want to.

Would the younger man have been as good—or maybe better—if he had never seen the older man play? Would we all be better if we could make our games as close to Federer’s as possible? It’s one thing to copy a player’s general style. Bjorn Borg launched a million baseliners. It’s another to copy—or internalize; Dimitrov understandably doesn’t like the copycat label—the idiosyncrasies of one man’s genius. John McEnroe had no imitators.

None of this means the Bulgarian is any kind of genius; Frank Dancevic's game is also reminiscent of Federer's, and he's never cracked the Top 20. What matters for tennis fans is this: If you like to watch Roger Federer play, you’re going to like to watch Grigor Dimitrov. If, like me, you love Federer’s game but have gotten tired of his Sire Jacket lordliness over the years, you’ll like him even more, because it’s going to be a while before Dimitrov lords it over anyone. I spent a set at Court 10 watching Dimitrov-Golubev today, long enough to see that it wasn’t going to be a competitive match. So I traipsed to the other side of Melbourne Park, which is not around the corner, to watch some of Victor Troicki, another guy I’m interested this season. Or at least I thought I was interested in him. Compared to Dimitrov, Troicki’s game seemed limited and earthbound. So I got up and made the trek back to Court 10, just for the pleasure of seeing the kid play.

The two girls were there, and they were still smiling. So was Dimitrov. When he won the last point, he pumped his fist and flashed a wide grin. Then he looked at his coaches and smiled some more. He couldn’t stop smiling. He’d won a Grand Slam match. It was a Grigor Dimitrov moment to savor.

http://blogs.tennis.com/thewrap/2011/01 ... oment.html

[DUN I LOVE]

Dzisiejsze zwycięstwo nad Golubevem (61 64 62) to nie tylko 1 wygrany mecz wielkoszlemowy w karierze Bułgara. Wynik ten otworzył mu także drzwi do Top-100 i prawdopodobnie także do Top-90.
_________________________________________________

31.01.2011 - Dimitrov w Top-100.
Grigor Dimitrov, po udanym Australian Open (przebrnął kwalifikacje, przegrał w 2 rundzie Turnieju Głównego), po raz pierwszy w karierze awansował do Top-100 rankingu ATP. Bułgar jest dziś 85 tenisistą świata. Brawo!

[Art]

07.03.2011

Grigor wygrał challenger w Cherbourgu, dzięki czemu awansował na 71 miejsce w rankingu.



Dimitrov zwyciężył w turnieju rangi challenger po raz 4 w karierze:
2011 Cherbourg
2010 Genewa, Bangkok, Bangkok-2.

Ceremonia wręczenia nagród:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBNTUHZR ... r_embedded

[DUN I LOVE]

Monachium - 1/4
Eastbourne - 1/4

Pierwsze ćwiartki Grigora Dimitrova na szczeblu ATP Tour.

[jaccol55]

11.07.2011

Najwyższa pozycja w karierze: 59

[Art]

One to watch: the rise and rise of Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov.

He has the genes of sporting parents, was tutored by Peter Lundgren and has been likened to Roger Federer.



Grigor Dimitrov. He’s the kind of player who just draws the eye.

It’s not simply that he plays tennis extremely well, though his pedigree shone through in 2008 with junior titles from both Wimbledon and the US Open at just gone 17. No, it’s something more.

When the slight, still-growing teenager was given his first wild card for Queen’s in 2009, there was already a buzz about this new talent, encouraged not a little by the bold words of his then coach, Peter Lundgren.

For the man who had coached Roger Federer during the years leading up to the Swiss star’s first Wimbledon title commented that his young charge was more talented than Federer had been at the same age – and the comparison stuck.

As if to fan the flames, Dimitrov also claimed Federer as both his idol and the man on whom he based his game.

Allusions to Federer aside, by the time Dimitrov—barely advanced beyond the Futures circuit—walked onto the plush turf of Queen’s that first time, he was making waves.

A wild card to Rotterdam earlier in the year had seen him beat Tomas Berdych and then take Rafael Nadal to three sets. In Marseille, he took world No8 Gilles Simon to three sets and in his first Davis Cup tie, still only 17, he won two gruelling singles rubbers that included four tiebreakers and nine sets.

A quarter-final finish at Nottingham sealed Dimitrov’s Queen’s place and, sure enough, his style of play did suggest a new Federer in the making.

The Dimitrov backhand is a single-hander that sweeps back with such whip that the racket-head all but strikes him between the shoulders.

His down-the-line backhand drive—Dimitrov’s personal favorite—has all the makings of a signature shot and his forehand is fast and varied across court, down the line and inside out.

He has talent at the net too, with the touch to angle shots to both sides, and the same fluidity of movement that makes the Federer game so aesthetically appealing.

In that first grass match, Dimitrov beat the top-100 Spaniard Ivan Navarro and went on to take Simon to two tiebreakers in the second round.

His progress was then slowed by an injury that forced him to retire in the first round at Wimbledon and he returned to the proving ground of the Futures tour: but the spell had been cast.

By the latter half of 2010, Dimitrov was winning Challenger events left, right and centre – three on the trot in September. And he was rising through the ranks with impressive speed, from 342 after that Queen’s debut to 106 by the end of 2010.

At the start of 2011, when he qualified for the Australian Open and then beat No38 Andrey Golubev in the first round, Dimitrov seemed poised for his next breakthrough, yet his results blew hot and cold.

The 19-year-old qualified with ease for the 500 events at Dubai and Rotterdam but then lost in the first rounds. However, now with an improved ranking of 70, most of those losses were to more experienced, more highly-ranked men.

In Dubai, he fell to Richard Gasquet in a shower of errors and 64 minutes. In Rotterdam, he ran into Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. After qualifying for the Miami Masters, he went out to Sergiy Stakhovsky and in Barcelona, it was a first-round loss to Juan Monaco.

But just before his 20th birthday Dimitrov beat No25, Marcos Baghdatis, to take his place in a first ATP quarter-final in Munich. He went on to lose to the 35-ranked Florian Mayer but he came within touching distance of the semi-final in a two-and-a-half-hour three-set thriller.

Most recently, on the grass that suits his game so well, Dimitrov reached the semis at Eastbourne and made his next significant breakthrough – this time on Wimbledon’s No1 court in one of the thrillers of the tournament.

His second-round match once again pitted the Bulgarian against Tsonga in a four-set, three-and-a-half-hour contest of rain-delays, break points, lost leads and all-court athleticism.

Tsonga survived and took his resurgent game on to beat Federer for a place in the semi-finals. But Dimitrov had made the biggest impression of his career.

Yet this young player seems still to be discussed with an edge of impatience. For such is the expectation surrounding Dimitrov that the tennis public has come to expect upsets every time his name appears on the draw sheet, urgently awaiting proof that he is the standard-bearer for the next generation.

Another reason why expectation may have run ahead of reality is Dimitrov’s own disarming confidence – a self-assurance that sometimes sails close to arrogance.

Take his comments in an interview reported by the Telegraph in January: “I definitely believe I can be the world No1. I believe in my abilities, as when I get things right, things happen to me.”

Dimitrov is now benefitting from the wise hand of the hugely experienced Peter McNamara, and to see the relationship in action, on an outside Wimbledon court during a first-round doubles match, is to watch the learning process take place as if by osmosis. Smiles and encouragement on one side, eye-contact and attentiveness on the other.

It is worth remembering too that Dimitrov’s role model, Federer, progressed steadily towards the top. He was almost 21 before winning his first Masters, almost 22 before his first Slam.

However Dimitrov, until Wimbledon the youngest man in the top 100, has a growing band of contemporaries who are also starting to make names for themselves.

Ryan Harrison, a year his junior, is on the verge of top-100 status at 101. Milos Raonic, just a few months older than Dimitrov, is already at 26, though his extraordinary surge up the rankings this year has been brought to an untimely halt by hip surgery.

And Dimitrov’s hold on the youngest top-100 player title has now been usurped by the 18-year-old Bernard Tomic. The Australian won seven matches at Wimbledon to earn a quarter-final place against Novak Djokovic, and even won a set from the eventual champion.

This, perhaps, is one of the reasons for impatience. Dimitrov has been the one in the spotlight—much as Gasquet was before him—from the moment his name was linked with Federer’s.

Meanwhile, his contemporaries have honed their growing talents in the wings and now look just as capable of spearheading tennis’s new wave.

But this young man from Bulgaria—grown taller since that Queen’s debut, grown calmer in the hands of McNamara, grown more experienced against major players such as Tsonga—is now surely within touching distance of his first title and, very probably, a place in the top 20 before he turns 21.

http://www.thesportreview.com/tsr/2011/ ... -to-watch/

[DUN I LOVE]

Grigor nie musi już grać w tenisa. Wystarczyło jedno zdjęcie w sieci, by przedstawicielski płci pięknej wysłały go na wybieg tudzież duży ekran.

Bułgar męczy się ze swoją grą, wprawdzie zaczął wygrywać pojedyncze mecze, ale szału nie ma. Troszkę poprawia swój ranking, ale też bez większych rewelacji. W najnowszym notowaniu (25.07.2011) jest 57.

[Art]

22.08.2011

Najwyższy ranking w karierze: 52

[DUN I LOVE]

Wywiad z Grigorem, przeprowadzony podczas turnieju w Winston - Salem.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hR-hG6_0 ... r_embedded[/youtube]

[grzes430]

Rozbawiło mnie to
http://video.eurosport.pl/tenis/dimitro ... ideo.shtml

[Samurray]

Dimitrov Beats Fifth Seed Dodig

Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov knocked out fifth seed Ivan Dodig of Croatia 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 33 minutes on Monday at the PTT Thailand Open.

Dimitrov, who started the year at No. 106 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings, won 73 per cent of his service points and hit four aces to record his 14th match win of the season.

"I thought it was a great match today," said Dimitrov, who is now 6-6 lifetime on indoor courts. "I'm still overcoming the jetlag, but I hope to do well here as I was really looking forward to playing in Bangkok. It has been a great experience so far."

"My game is improving, after a couple of rough months, but I am working hard and trying to progress. Today, it all kind of clicked into place."

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... Debut.aspx

[Ranger]

Dimitrov Enjoys Muay Thai Kick Boxing Demonstration



Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov participated in the PTT Thailand Open's traditional Muay Thai kick boxing demonstration in Bangkok on Wednesday.

"The activity was great," said 20-year-old Dimitrov. "The Thai people are really nice and they gave me a pretty nice gift - Muay Thai shorts with my name on it - so I definitely couldn’t resist on going back to do it again.

"The boxers were awesome, it was a great experience. It is my fourth time already in Thailand and the people really adore this kind of thing so it was a good chance for me to join them in their environment. It was fun."

Joining forces with three of Thailand’s leading Muay Thai stars, Dimitrov was taken through the warm-up ritual of Thailand’s national sport, before being shown a series of six basic Muay Thai combat techniques.

"I didn’t know much about Muay Thai before I came to Bangkok, but I watched a couple of matches and stuff, it looks pretty brutal," said Dimitrov. "I certainly don’t want to be in that sport, but I used to do other types of that sport before, there’s kind of some similarities and differences to."

The Bulgarian then proved that he was a quick learner, demonstrating his newly acquired talents with the local boxers much to the delight of the impressed Thai fans.

"I have seen boxers and seen these guys," said Dimitrov. "I mean boxers have big upper bodies, but these guys are just like a big block of stone. I am sure that receiving the hits is not fun, but it was a great experience and I think the guys also enjoyed showing me some nice moves."

Dimitrov, currently No. 76 in the South African Airways 2011 ATP Rankings, reached the quarter-finals at the AEGON International in Eastbourne (l. to Tipsarevic) in June. He has a 14-21 match record on the season and will meet Italian qualifier Simone Bolelli in the second round on Thursday."

Źródło: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... -Thai.aspx

[DUN I LOVE]

Dimitrov zanotował dziś 3 ćwierćfinał w swojej karierze. Monachium, Eastbourne i teraz Bangkok.

Zwycięstwo nad Bolellim to 15 wygrany mecz w tym sezonie przez bułgarskiego gracza.

[DUN I LOVE]

Koniec azjatyckich podbojów.

Grigor przegrał dziś mecz z Roddickiem, mając wiele szans na ugranie czegoś więcej. Martwi mnie to, bo to już któraś z kolei tego typu przegrana. Do pewnego momentu można to tłumaczyć młodym wiekiem, brakiem ogrania, słabszym dniem, klasą rywala itp Wydaje mi się, że w przypadku 20-letniego Bułgara kolejne takie porażki potęgują presję i coraz większe oczekiwania na przełamanie się w kolejnych turniejach. Podejrzewam, że taki sam cel stawia sobie Bułgar, wymagając od siebie wyczekiwanego "zrywu", a to może być bardzo niebezpieczne...

[robpal]

O ile przegrane w Azji z Tsongą czy z Murrayem jestem w stanie zrozumieć, bo to jednak jaśniejsze postacie tego sezonu i zawodnicy ze ścisłej czołówki, o tyle Rod dzisiaj sam się prosił o przegranie tego spotkania. Szkoda strasznie, bo ta część szanghajskiej drabinki była wyjątkowo słaba

[Wąski]

IF STOCKHOLM OPEN 2011

Another of the ATP World Tour’s rising stars, Grigor Dimitrov, advanced Wednesday, setting up a second-round clash with fourth seed Juan Ignacio Chela after beating American Ryan Sweeting 6-3, 6-1. The 20-year-old Bulgarian converted four of his 12 break point opportunities to prevail in 73 minutes.

http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... vance.aspx

[Ranger]

IF STOCKHOLM OPEN 2011

Dimitrov Ousts Fourth Seed Chela



Rising Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov reached his fourth ATP World Tour quarter-final of the season on Thursday as he ousted fourth-seeded Argentine Juan Ignacio Chela 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 at the If Stockholm Open.

World No. 70 Dimitrov recorded just his second win in 15 attempts over a Top 30 player this season as he converted six of 10 break points. He improved to an 18-24 match record on the year and goes on to face sixth seed Milos Raonic. The No. 28-ranked Chela was playing his first hard-court match since the US Open, having received a bye through the first round.

Źródło: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis ... ction.aspx

[jaccol55]

Konferencja prasowa ze Sztokholmu:

How do you assess your performance in 2011?

As a whole it was quite successful. There were moments when we couldn't achieve the desired result but in the end of the year I managed to keep my composure. My father also helped me - he came at one of the most critical moments for me and we managed to get our power and motivation back and have a good end of the season. I hope that next year we'll build a good schedule and succeed in achieving more of our goals. We think about having a good preparation and making practice more various so that it's both interesting and useful.

Speaking about his aim to get into top 50 which he couldn't achieve:

I was close to top 50 but next year the goals will be higher and each year the level of play should improve. Right now the ranking is not of greatest importance but I'm still happy that I'll finish the season in top 100 which is a good achievement for me. Things didn't work out the way we wanted but each year I'm playing better so the better ranking will come from itself later. We still have a lot of work to do and that's why Stockholm was the last tournament. Now I'll have time to rest and to see what mistakes we've made, to see about proceeding in the cleverest way in 2012 and to have a good preparation.

Why did you miss the chance to beat Monfils? (IMO the one who asked made a mistake - perhaps he meant Tsonga at Wimby)

Only him? Maybe they are more (laughs). There were definitely more matches against top players that I could win but alas... Obviously the moment hasn't come yet. I couldn't surpass myself even though I was so close. I saw my mistakes and know on what I need to work. I get angry when I watch those matches again but I hope that in the future I'll have more encounters with these players.

About Hopman Cup and whether he thinks that they'll qualify for the semis...

Yes, of course. It's one of the first goals for 2012. I'm very happy that I'll be at this tournament and have always wanted to take part in it. I'll be honoured to play with Tsveti (Tsvetana Pironkova). I think that we have big chances to achieve something bigger but the most important thing is that we are healthy. We'll be in Perth 5-6 days before the event and will have time to get used to the courts and the conditions.

Whether he still keeps the faith that he'll find place among the world tennis elite...

Now I believe in it even more. (laughs) This was one of the years when I realized what it was to play ATP tournaments, to travel constantly and in the same time to show 100% on the court. You make mistakes that later you try not to repeat and this makes you become better and leads you to success.

About Djokovic's season and whether they have played together:

I don't know whether it's possible to describe with words what Djokovic did. It's unseen. Yes, we practiced together in Australia this year.

About the comparisons with Federer:

What can I say about that... Roger himself said once - it's nothing special to imitate others. Everybody needs to find his own style of play.

About the strong matches against top tennis players and the bad matches against qualifiers in the first rounds of tournaments:

Nice question... You mean Newport, don't you? (laughs) For sure I didn't take advantage in some of the matches. I learn my lessons from each one of these matches. Some losses are caused by fatigue from travelling, others by health problems, others happen simply because there are days when nothing works and such days are unavoidable.

On the difference between the top 10 players and the rest:

The first ten differ mostly physically. Besides they play 15-16 tournaments per season and use the rest of the time to rest and recuperate. They are always ready for the big tournaments where there are also the big points. They take the time they need. They have a different view at the schedule.

On the tricks during matches when a tennis player takes a MTO and turns a match around:

Monfils did this to me (laughs). Djokovic is the one who does such things the most but he's #1 and this is a part of the game.

On the winner of the WTA championships:

Hm... To try to predict women's tennis is a bit relative. I'll pick Wozniacki because I know her.

"You need to be happy on the court. When you go to bed you have to ask yourself: Did I do everything today? I'm happy. This is something that is also very important." Grigor said.

Oryginalny tekst znajduje się na bułgarskiej stronie: http://www.tenniskafe.com/

[robpal]

Obszerny wywiad przeprowadzony przez dziennikarzy bułgarskiego portalu tenniskafe.

Spoiler:

This season you played against players like Tsonga, Murray, Monfils and Roddick. You lost but you played well in many of these matches. How do you regard these matches - as a missed chance or as a valuable experience?

I regard them as a missed chance, as experience and as a lesson. I had my chances but couldn't win. I lost the match but won the lesson. There was a period when I played against four top 20 players in a row. I was very content with myself and didn't feel bad because of the losses against Tsonga, Murray and the rest. I need to have more patience. It didn't happen then but it will happen later. Obviously the time hasn't come yet. I might lose also my next 5 matches but I think that there will come a moment when things will turn around.

Which matches, that you played throughout the year, are you the most satisfied with?

Definitely against Murray. That was one of my best performances during this year. My father felt the same way which matters even more to me. He is one of the reasons that I played well in the end of the season which is what I wanted to show throughout the year but sometimes I couldn't. Of course I should add also the match against Baghdatis which was quite attractive. I played 4 QFs during the season and the last 3 of them were in a matter of several weeks. Besides for the first time in my career I played only ATP tournaments during the season. This was a very valuable experience for me. I took part in tournaments in Asia, Europe, the USA and all this helped me gain this experience.

A whole new world for you?

Yes, definitely a new world. I got to know different tournaments. The last 4 were on 4 different surfaces with 4 different kinds of balls which is very tough for a tennis player.

On what are you going to put emphasis during your preparation in the off-season: particular strokes, tactics or physical training?

Definitely a number one goal for me is improving my physical condition. I lose a couple of kilos on every tournament, constantly change the continents and climate zones and this is not good for the body. I felt indisposed during many tournaments and especially in Asia. I never said that in public but I didn't feel well there at all. Most of the stuff remains hidden for people but these things cost great efforts. I hope that we'll make a very good schedule next year; this is very important.

It will be very interesting for tennis fans in Bulgaria to see you play mixed doubles with Tsvetana Pironkova. What does the participation in Hopman Cup mean to you?

I've always wanted to play Hopman Cup. It was a childhood dream of mine. I remember how Federer and Hingis played together and have always liked this tournament. I hope that we'll have fun. This is the most important thing but in the same time we'll have to do our best and to show what we can.

You are only 20-years-old but already broke many records in the Bulgarian male tennis and in fact you turned into the most successful player in the Bulgarian tennis history. Have you ever thought about that?

Of course it's great to be number one in your country and I am proud because I love Bulgaria. I haven't thought and I haven't set a goal "Now I'm going to become the best in Bulgaria" but I'm happy that I've achieved it.

Many specialists say that you, Raonic, Tomic, Berankis and Harrison are the "new wave in world tennis" and some even compare you to the top 4 - Djokovic, Nadal, Murray and Federer. I guess you know each other very well. Could you describe in short the strengths and weaknesses of every one of them?

Yes, I know them very well. They all had a great year. Tomic reached QF at Wimbledon and Raonic won an ATP tournament. As for Raonic's strengths I think that everything is clear (laughs). Harrison is more cautious and patient but I don't know to what extend this will help him in his development in the future. At first sight Tomic doesn't look very attractive but his style helps him a lot. There are moments when he uses some combinations that he learned during practice and he does this very well. He just doesn't miss. I've always respected Berankis for his fighting spirit. He fights till the end in every match. I wish to everyone of them most of all that they are injury-free and that they go the right way. I also wish that we are the next group of tennis players who will reach the top.

You've told me that you are in good relations with may players but it seems that you are the closest with Dmitry Tursunov?

Yes, definitely he's the player I'm in best relations with. We dine together when we are on tournaments or we support each other - he is often on the stands during my matches and I am there during his matches. He is very entertaining, has a good sense of humour but in the same time sometimes he plays with fire (laughs).

You came to Varna after being invited by Ognian Iliev (Bulgarian DC captain) in order to meet and practice with the kids from tennis club "Cherno More Elit". Did you remember the time when you were in their shoes?

Yes, I remembered. I always think about it even when I just see somebody being happy because of meeting his favourite athlete. I'm very grateful to Ognian Iliev for his help. I am also very grateful to all people from Varna who have helped me in the last 5 years and also to my family who always supports me. I'm thankful also to Georgi Stoimenov, Katerina Maleeva's husband. He helped me a lot in many fields and I've achieved a lot thanks to him. Last but not least I'm grateful to the fans - I've always respected them and try to do something for them when I have this opportunity.

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