Grigor Dimitrov had hit bottom.
He had lost six of his past seven opening matches. The former World No. 8 and Wimbledon semi-finalist had slipped all the way to No. 40 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, his steepest decline in more than three years.
But 13 months later, Dimitrov finds himself on an entirely different plateau. The Bulgarian is No. 11 this week after a brief return to the Top 10 last month. He arrives at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati keen on climbing even farther.
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“I'm in a great spot. I think I've learned a lot from it, and I think at the same time, it's just something to remember. I don't want to forget things like that because those are the things that actually push me to play better and to be even stronger in the tough moments, and things like that are paying off in the long term,” Dimitrov exclusively told ATPWorldTour.com.
The 26 year old has had one of his best seasons in years. After a fruitful off-season with coach Daniel Vallverdu, Dimitrov began 2017 in Top 5 form. Down Under, he beat three Top 10 players – Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic and Kei Nishikori – en route to winning a stacked Brisbane International presented by Suncorp.
Dimitrov followed that with his second Grand Slam semi-final run at the Australian Open before falling to Rafael Nadal. After a home title in February at the Garanti Koza Sofia Open in Bulgaria, Dimitrov had started the season 14-1.
“I just had a great off-season. I think I worked a lot... I think I had a good mindset, good positivity, coming out to play, and everything else was pretty much in the background for me,” Dimitrov said.
He struggled to get going on the clay, but on the grass, Dimitrov made the semi-finals at The Queen's Club for the third time and the fourth round at Wimbledon (l. to eventual champion Federer).
He's glad to be returning to hard courts now during the North American swing. This season, Dimitrov has won 76 per cent of his hard-court matches, compard to 67 per cent on grass, and 44 per cent on clay.
“I always like to play on the hard courts. I've obviously had very good results on it. But again, I still need to face very tough opponents every round and I just need to be ready... I need to stay grounded, I need to stay humble and keep playing the game, give 100 per cent from myself every day, and let the rest happen,” he said.
Dimitrov, who's making his sixth appearance in Cincinnati, is coming off his best showing at the Masters 1000 event. He reached the semi-finals last year before falling 7-5 in the third to eventual champion Marin Cilic. Dimitrov opens against Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, who beat Korean Hyeon Chung 7-6(5), 6-1.
“It's going to take a lot out of me to win every match so I need to keep that momentum, that positivity,” Dimitrov said. “Every time you can use anything in your favour, you should just take it and keep it through the tournament.”