World No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov says he will take time off to reassess his form, following a third-round exit at Roland Garros on Friday.
“I definitely need to take some time off now to kind of reassess the whole clay-court season, to be honest,” said Dimitrov, after his 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-4 loss to Fernando Verdasco. “I think that's going to be the No. 1 priority for me now, to kind of step out from tennis for a little bit, [and] try to watch some matches and sort of try to progress somehow. Just get better.
“I have always been a positive thinker, and I want to keep that on the same level right now.”
[ALSO LIKE]The Bulgarian, who finished the 2017 on a high with the Nitto ATP Finals trophy, has compiled an 18-11 record this season. He ends the European clay-court swing with a 7-5 mark.
“I really expected to play better on clay,” admitted Dimitrov. "Throughout the last matches I played, even in the Madrid, Rome, Paris, all matches, I had everything to win. So absolutely, it’s my fault.
“I need to reassess that a little bit more. Every year I pretty much play well on the clay, but never good enough to have a better result [here in Paris]. Unfortunately, that's the current situation. I don't want to get too down on myself, because it is what it is.
“You have to draw the line and look for the next chapter. Also, in tennis you never know, one week can always turn things around for you. It's been proven to work in the past.”
The 26-year-old has never progressed beyond the third round (2013, 2017-18), or beaten a player in the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings, in eight visits to the clay-court Grand Slam championship in Paris (7-8 record). “Unfortunately, I have to continually stop here, [at] the same time.”