In Bercy,
We weren’t there, but we can imagine Grigor Dimitrov heaving a sigh while having a massage in front of his TV when he saw Andrey Rublev lose his half at the Masters 1000 at Bercy against Novak Djokovic on a double fault. An attack of weakness with which he necessarily sympathized, he whose head was never the strong point. Against the Russian, the Bulgarian has an honorable record of three victories for four defeats. Against the Serbian, it’s something else: 11 duels lost for only one won, ten years ago in Madrid at a time when tennis observers still imagined him as “baby Federer”, the kind of cumbersome label that we only detach ourselves by disappearing.
This is more or less what Grigor Dimitrov ended up doing. From Roger’s heir, he moved to an improved version of Richard Gasquet. Do not laugh. Beyond the one-handed backhand, his best Grand Slam runs are semis like the Frenchman, and only his year 2017 (victory in Cincinatti and at the ATP finals) places him a notch above the Biterrois, twice as successful. on the circuit: 16 trophies for Gasquet, but all in ATP 250 against 8 for the Bulgarian, including a major, an ATP 500 and a Masters 1000. Small stat for hope before the final against Djoko, the esthete is undefeated in Masters 1000 final. One played, one won. Answer that, Novak.
After 2017, the great void
2017, which was to be a point of entry into the new world to the right of the big 3, was only the apotheosis of a career from which we expect so much. Since then, nothing. Not a title, just two finals. The first in 2018 and the second this year in Geneva, the beginnings of a timid resurrection in which we had stopped believing. Too fragile physically and mentally, Dimitrov has fallen into the caricature of the handsome player incapable of hurting himself and hurting the best players on the circuit, against whom he has only negative results. His summer spent being shriveled by Alexander Zverev (four defeats in four matches, only one set won) sums up the idea rather well, and explains why we believed (wrongly) that he would not overcome the obstacle Daniil Medvedev in the 2nd week after losing the second set. Reliable is not necessarily the adjective that best characterizes the guy.
However, and as irregular as he may be, the ex-future Federer has always known how to beat the best. Carlos Alcaraz recently paid the price in Shanghai, after a three-set match where the Bulgarian displayed unsuspected mental resources. Being able to overcome the loss of the first set after dominating it, against the world No. 2, is anything but Grigor. Unless it is the new version of the player, more solid and relaxed, capable of keeping calm in a Masters 1000 semi-final tie-break to extinguish Stefanos Tsitsipas. “When the tie-break started, I said to myself, ‘okay he was solid but I also did a lot of good things,’” he said after his victory. I relied on what I did well and, of course, a few serves here and there. I also made very good returns, I attacked the ball, and that allowed me to take a lead in the tie-break. »
“Playing makes me happy and proud”
This positive approach to crucial moments crowns a certain detachment that has appeared with age (32 years all the same), experience, and the idea of a sporting life closer to its end than to its beginnings.
“Now, when I’m on court, I just want to enjoy the moment, like I’m having a unique experience. How the match will unfold, I don’t know. But playing makes me happy and proud. In a way, things are going my way but I’m not waiting for my opponent to do something or to miss. I want to win or lose on my own terms. »
Whether he wins or loses, Dimitrov is well aware of the importance of his week in Paris in this ocean of ups and downs. “I know how difficult it was for me during certain tournaments, during certain months. This finale comes at the right time. It matters much more than other great moments in my career. I have one match left and I’m going to give it my all. » It will take at least that to prevent Djokovic from winning a 7th title at Bercy.