Grigor Dimitrov: A Teenager’s Pursuit of the Federer Dream

By
at Internationaled.org

Published: April 30, 2011

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It may not seem the most auspicious of moments to appraise the slim, 6-foot-2 Bulgarian standing at No. 69 in the rankings.

Grigor Dimitrov’s match results this year have been, it is true, far from eye-opening—as his 4-8 win-loss record proves.

He fell in the first round of the Dubai 500 in a shower of errors in 64 minutes, though he entered the tournament as a qualifier and lost to a man 53 places above him in rankings, Richard Gasquet.

It was a similar story in Rotterdam—the Bulgarian qualified for the main draw and immediately ran into Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. He qualified for the Miami Masters, but this time went out to Sergiy Stakhovsky. Then in Barcelona, it was Juan Monaco.

So, no: not auspicious.

And yet, for many other reasons, now seems just the right time to turn the telescope on the youngest player in the top 100 of men’s tennis, the only teenager in the top 125.

For the eye-catching, elegant 19-year-old—bursting with the confidence of youth—has this week reached his first ATP quarterfinals in Munich.

And even though he was beaten by the 35-ranked Florian Mayer, the young Bulgarian came within touching distance of a semi-final place in a two-and-a-half-hour thriller, 6-7, 6-3, 4-6.

Dimitrov had break points in the first and third sets that he failed to convert, won more points overall, scored more aces and had a higher serve percentage.

It was, in fact, the kind of match that seems to slip through the fingers like silver sand.

However, the event marked a further step in a Dimitrov year that suggests green shoots are about to burst into flower.

He qualified for the Australian Open and beat the Hamburg champion, Andrey Golubev, in straight sets. He beat the experienced Rainer Schuettler with ease in Houston and, this week, he beat the 25-ranked Marcos Baghdatis, saving two match points in the process.
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Article Source: Bleacher Report - Tennis

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