Grigor "Grisho" Dimitrov: Is The Talented Kid On The Right Track?

The 18-year-old Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov has had his share of bad luck of lately. After his hugely successful 2008 in the junior division, when he became junior champion of both Wimbledon and US Open, Grigor entered men’s tennis.

Like many other talented young players, the expectations of him doing well were quite high.

Knowing that, Grigor tried his best. He stirred the imaginations of many by taking a set off previously No.1 ranked Rafael Nadal, eventually losing the match. But the sweat on Nadal’s forehead never left any doubt for the young Bulgarian’s tennis skills.

Since then, Grigor Dimitrov has played 26 matches. He has lost 14 and won 12.

In order to see if he is on the right track in his professional career, we have to take a look at the matches he played and how he performed during the year so far.

After putting a few wrinkles on Nadal’s face, he decided to do the same to his next candidate— No. 7 ranked in the world French player Gilles Simon—who was one of the four players to have succeeded in beating Rodger Federer.

To confirm Dimitrov’s class and bright future, Gilles Simon struggled during the match,and had to produce an extraordinary performance to come back from 2-5 in the third set. Eventually, Grisho(that’s how his friends call him) lost the match 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

In March, he participated in the Davis Cup for the national team of Bulgaria. He defeated both of his opponents from Hungary.

Later, Grigor played in the $50k ATP Tournament in Thailand, where he met Thailand N.1 Danai Udomchoke in the second round and lost 6-7 and 5-7.

Then, the young Bulgarian struggled with four losses in a row in respectively another ATP tournament. He lost in Thailand, the Zagorka Cup in Bulgaria, Aegean Tennis Cup in Greece, and the Israeli Open.

Grigor must not have been happy with his performances in those tournaments.

He then participated in the hard-surface tournament, Trofeo Paolo Crozzi, in Italy. He defeated four of his opponents to meet German Benjamin Becker in the quarter-finals, where he lost 4-6 and 5-7.

In June, he had a similar performance in the Aegon Trophy, which is played on grass in Birmingham. He had four wins and two losses, reaching the quarterfinal but failed to advance beyond it.

Then, again in the Ageon Championships on grass in Great Britain, Grisho met his old acquaintance in the second round, Gilles Simon, and lost once again to him 6-7 and 6-7.

Meeting many top players, especially players in the top ten of the world ranking ladder, could have only played a good role in the development of the young Bulgarian tennis player.

His luck once again put him up against another top 10 player and a countryman of Gilles Simon—Jo Wilfred Tsonga. This time, Dimitrov gave in easily and lost 1-6 and 4-6.

Unfortunately for young Federer look-alike, bad luck struck him at one of the tournaments where he had tasted success, Wimbledon.

He beat Russian Igor Kunitsyn 6-3 in the first set but then suffered an injury. Nevertheless, Dimitrov showed a great spirit and forced himself to continue to play. After losing the next 10 games, he decided to retire from the match.

To complete his year so far, the young Bulgarian took part in the Swedish Open with a reward of $450,000. He was defeated in the first round by Argentinean Guillermo Canas who is ranked No. 151.

Despite the mixed success that Grigor Dimitrov achieved this year, he has gained a lot of experience and he has certainly improved.

Currently, he is ranked No. 326 in the Men’s World Ranking List, which is more than 300 places since last year.

There is a lot more to be wanted from the young talent but for now, he looks like he is on the right track. He only needs more time to develop into a top tennis player.