Dimitrov driven to join the elite

The relief was etched all over his face, Grigor Dimitrov was fighting back the tears just before he gave his acceptance speech at the Brisbane International.

The 25-year-old is witnessing something of a renaissance and achieved one of his “biggest” wins in his career on Sunday, defeating Kei Nishikori 6-2 2-6 6-3 at the Pat Rafter Arena to claim his first ATP title since the London green grass at Queen’s in 2014.

Dimitrov has constantly been tipped as the next big thing, the guy ready to challenge the ‘big four’, but this has yet to materialise for a player of such tremendous talent.

2017 has delivered a driven Dimitrov, perhaps his Brisbane triumph is a signal he is finally ready to join the sport’s elite bracket after threatening from the periphery.

He’s had big wins, has been ranked as high as No.8, however it appears the Bulgarian is learning how to harness his potential.

Wielding his beautifully curated single backhand, Dimitov’s run to the title included three consecutive top 10 scalps; dismissing Dominic Thiem, defending champion Milos Raonic and then Nishikori. He won’t get drawn into the hype, “focus” is his buzzword.

“It is for sure one of the biggest moments for me,” stated Dimitrov having lost his previous four ATP finals.

“That was an emotional win for me, but in the same time, it wasn’t unexpected. I think I have put in the work. I think I have learned a lot. I have gone through some serious work. I have just been working on myself, you know, on and off the court.

“I’m pretty humbled, because I have set myself quite high goals for the first six months, and one of them was actually to win a tournament. And it happened during the first week of the year, which makes things definitely look a lot more positive for me but I’m just staying with my feet on the ground.

“As soon as I go to Melbourne, I’m going to just focus on what’s ahead of me, you know, the heat, best-of-five sets, other players. I just really need to stay focused now.”

A heart-to-heart with coach Dani Valverdu when his ranking was slipping to the 40s in mid-2016 prompted Dimitrov’s positive perspective, as well as the realisation that others were catching the established ATP star players.

“Things have been pretty different lately in the tennis world,” added Dimitrov.

“You see people are improving. Younger guys are coming up. So to speak traditional guys are starting to slow down a little bit.

“We all see that, so let’s not shy away from it, but I’m pretty focused on myself right now.

“I’m really going to stay away from all that talk or the commentary because I just want to do things and be with people in a way that makes me happy.”

Nightly visits to an arcade games parlour in Brisbane gave Dimitov the necessary distraction away from the pressure of the tennis.

“It’s given me tremendous joy,” said the Bulgarian. “It’s something so childish. Every time I was going to bed, I was, like, ‘Wow, that feels so good’. It’s just something so small.

“That’s why I say these 10 days that I have been here… I don’t remember the last time I felt that good on and off the court.”

In a recent video diary of his pre-season endeavours, Dimitrov told ATP’s website: “At the start of the year you see who’s been working and who hasn’t.”

Dimitrov clearly has been grafting and is poised for pivotal season in his career. Whether he joins the elite is up for debate, but the Brisbane International is relishing the challenge.