ATP Rankings: Grigor Dimitrov Takes the ‘Dagger’ Off Roger Federer With a Thumping Entry Into Top-10

Did you know that Grigor Dimitrov is the 3rd person in the history of ATP rankings to have the longest gap between stints in the TOP 10 Dimitrov, who was ranked just outside the top 10 at the start of the Miami Open, has produced some spectacular performances over the week at the 2024 Miami Open. Several tennis fans praised the Bulgarian tennis star for his stellar performances against the No. 2, Carlos Alcaraz in the QF. Some of them even started calling that Dimitrov was “possessed” by Roger Federer during the match.

Recently, the Swiss Maestro appeared for an interview with GQ Sports and talked about how the one-handed backhand was dying because this was the first time since the ATP rankings started and no one-handed backhand players were left in the ATP Top 10. But now after 4 weeks of absence, Grigor Dimitrov will come back to the Top 10 on Monday irrespective of the result of the final, breaking his 260-week gap in ranking.

“A bad custodian of the one-hander” – Roger Federer

During the interview, Roger Federer said, “There’s not a player with a one-handed backhand in the top 10, currently. That’s a dagger right there.” The former World No.1 went on to add, “I felt that one. That one was personal. I didn’t like that.” But at the same time, it was very special for him, Pete Sampras, and Rod Laver, to be able to carry the torch for such a long time.

“I love seeing players with one-handers like Stan [Wawrinka] and [Richard] Gasquet and [Stefanos] Tsitsipas. Dominic Thiem has a wonderful one. Grigor [Dimitrov], good friend. So I love that. And then I like to see characters, and I like to see explosive athletic players,” Roger Federer. He said that he would have loved to see a bit more variety in the game. According to Federer, mixing up things between the matches always makes it interesting to watch. He stated, “It’s like an arm wrestle. But I like to say, ‘Let’s not enter the arm wrestle. Let’s enter another game.‘”

Will the one-handed backhands ever make a comeback? To this, The Swiss Maestro replied, “I think it’s still going to exist, it’s going to come back, it’s going to be there.” Roger Federer even called himself “A bad custodian of the one-hander” during the interview. But he hoped that things would change in the future. Talking about changes, well Grigor Dimitrov is currently on a God-mode, and what a comeback he has made into the bigger stages of the game. 

He recently defeated Alexander Zverev in the 2024 Miami Open finals by a 6-4,6-7(4),6-4 margin. This result has now secured the Top 10 entry for Dimitrov in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time since November 2018. What did Grigor Dimitrov say after the match?

“I fight my own battles” – Grigor Dimitrov on his incredible journey

The 32-year-old Bulgarian tennis star earned his 20th Top 5 win by defeating Alexander Zverev in the SF of the 2024 Miami Open. After the match, Dimitrov said, “I fight my own battles right now. I run my own race. I think all that comes with all the work that we have put in as a team. I’m on a very different path in my life, in my career.”

He further went on to say, “There’s a lot that was done, a lot of work, a lot of everything behind it. I kept on believing, I kept on thriving, I kept on having faith in myself… This is just the cherry on the cake.”

When Dimitrov was asked about how he felt after reaching his 3rd Masters 1000 final and securing his top 10 return, the 32-year-old said, “For me, I think you miss one important thing for me 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… 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 think it’s where I’m most, in a way, most proud with.”

Do you think Grigor Dimitrov can win the Miami Open this year? Let us know in the comments below. 

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