There is a spring in the step of Grigor Dimitrov as he walks along the corridors of the Rotterdam Ahoy. Nine years on from being awarded a wild card by Tournament Director Richard Krajicek into the 2009 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, much has changed for the amiable Bulgarian. The target on Dimitrov’s chest has magnified since his first steps on the ATP World Tour in February 2009, when he beat Tomas Berdych before falling to World No. 1 Rafael Nadal. Last year’s runs to the Western & Southern Open trophy in Cincinnati, the emotion of winning the Nitto ATP Finals and a career-high year-end No. 3 finish in the ATP Rankings, fuelled the fire of what may be possible....
Grigor Dimitrov admits to a classic chick flick being his favourite film and reveals the world leader he would most like to meet in this Out Wide interview from Rotterdam.
You can draw a straight line between rising up the ATP rankings and improving your second-serve return. The first serve is always an asset for players because of the raw power, but win percentages surrounding second serves can easily flip into the liability column, especially against a good returner. An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the best returners from the 2017 season shows that the second-serve return can evolve into a bigger weapon than the second serve itself. [ALSO LIKE] For example, Grigor Dimitrov won 48.2 per cent (1033/2142) of his second-serve return points in 2016 from 65 matches. Everything under 50 per cent sits in the liability column, and this was not an obvious strength of the...
ATP World Tour Uncovered presented by Peugeot presents an Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of what shot helped 2017 Grigor Dimitrov soar all the way to third in the year-end ATP Rankings last season. Photo: Peter Staples/ATP World Tour
ATP World Tour Uncovered presented by Peugeot presents an Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of what shot helped 2017 Grigor Dimitrov soar all the way to third in the year-end ATP Rankings last season.