'Beating Roger Federer on such an occasion...', says former Top 10

Immediately after winning the ATP Finals in London three years ago, Grigor Dimitrov went through one of the most difficult moments of his entire career. The Bulgarian tennis player, former world number 3, began to show signs of awakening in the second half of 2019, until he hit the semifinal of the US Open. 'Grisha' showed up in New York without a seed, but thanks to some good performances he reached the quarter-finals, where Roger Federer was waiting for him. It was the eighth direct match between the Swiss and the Bulgarian, with King Roger having brought home all seven of the previous ones. The 20-time Grand Slam champion led two sets to one and wasted six break points in the fourth set, before succumbing to Dimitrov's comeback coupled with a back problem. The Haskovo player's run would be cut short in the next round against Daniil Medvedev, who didn't stop Grigor from celebrating his best result in the Big Apple, however. In a recent interview with 'Hello Monaco', Dimitrov expressed some thoughts on his first and only success against the Basel legend.

Dimitrov recalls his victory over Roger Federer

“Well, I did it last year at the US Open against Roger Federer. And I think to beat him on such an occasion and the way it happened, it meant more to me than against any other player" - Grigor Dimitrov said. Speaking more about why he remembers the match so much is because as a whole the match was wonderful for him. How it unfolded, and it was against Federer thus it is the match that sticks out. “Of course I appreciate so many other wins that I’ve had, but that particular win, it meant more than the actual win to me. I would say that match was the one that sticks out the most.” At an award show where he was voted Switzerland’s best athlete in the last 70 years, Federer said he is still far from regaining full fitness and is most likely to miss out on the Australian Open, and possibly the French Open as well. He also seemed to suggest that if his semifinal loss to Djokovic at the Australian Open this year were to be his last, he would go in peace. What’s also important to note in this context is that his knees have taken a heavy toll over the course of his 22-year career and probably make Federer feel like 50 at 39.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3r3KZ1S