On his way to the Miami Open 2024 final by convincingly beating Alexander Zverev in three sets, Grigor Dimitrov has assured his place among the top ten of the ATP Rankings.
The Bulgarian said that his best moments from his incredible run in Miami and his recent run of form had come from defeating elite players in back-to-back matches.
To get to the final match, the 32-year-old defeated Carlos Alcaraz, Zverev, and Hubert Hurkacz in consecutive games. Since the 2017 ATP Finals, where he won the greatest title of his career, he has not defeated three of the top 10 players in a single tournament.
For the first time since November 2018, Dimitrov will be ranked in the top 10 after his success in Miami. This will be the third-longest gap between top-10 appearances in ATP history, clocking in at 260 weeks.
He expressed his thoughts about his recent success and said: “For me, I think you miss one important thing for is what’s better, above all that, I have been able to put those matches back to back. I think the consistency of beating top players, that to me is way bigger success than anything else. I mean, if you do that, you get the ranking. If you do that, things are just getting better for you. But to do, it’s where it all comes through. The discipline, the hard work, you know, all the dedication, the adjustment to very different players throughout that time, I mean, you need to be able to do that constantly.”
He added: “That’s been happening for the past eight, nine, 12 months. It’s been difficult. I had a very, very difficult match that I lost and that I’m in a way still p***ed about. But I kept on believing and kept on doing the work. I think the discipline brought me I think to that moment. There is nothing else. I didn’t kind of deviate from my target, not even my goal. I had small targets throughout — every single week I had a target, and to be able to put my body through all that daily was also very important for me.”
Dimitrov concluded his discussion and said: “Every single day when I wake up and I don’t have a big pain that would stop me from practising 100% was already a success for me. So when you start putting all that together, I think it’s where I’m most, in a way, most proud with. Of course, competing against top players and beating them sort of back to back, it’s definitely what I’m the most happy with.”
Longest gaps between being ranked in the top 10
Dimitrov No. 3 on the list since the ATP computer rankings began in 1973https://t.co/bzgAjdM2kW#tennistv pic.twitter.com/upft1fclCc
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) March 30, 2024
Grigor Dimitrov in 2024
Currently the world no.9, the Bulgarian played his last match on the 31st of March when he lost to world no.2 Jannik Sinner 6-3 6-1 in the final in Miami (draw).
At present, during this year Grigor has managed to achieve a compiled 20-5 record. Dimitrov conquered 1 title in Brisbane. Grigor was the finalist in Marseille and Miami.
Dimitrov has scheduled to compete next in Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters (Monte–Carlo). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 7th of April.
Grigor Dimitrov |
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