Grigor Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov, who was coached by Patrick Mouratoglou in 2012, prior to his career with Serena Williams, is one of the most consistent and popular players on the men’s circuit, for his spectacular play and friendliness with the fans. His record may not be as impressive as his raw talent would suggest, but he has played in every Grand Slam, reached the Top 3 of the ATP rankings and won the ATP Finals in 2017. He remains capable of some fascinating performances and an exceptional level of play, as when he dispatched a Carlos Alcaraz at the top of his game (6-2, 6-4) at the Miami 2024 tournament.

World number one on the junior circuit in 2007, with a final at the Orange Bowl (under 18s) in 2007 and titles at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2008, the Bulgarian has had no trouble confirming the promise of his early results on the pro circuit. The Hoskovo native reached world number three in 2017, following up his five Masters titles with a first for a debutant at the event since John McEnroe in 1978. The best Bulgarian player in history, and the first from his country to win a title on Tour since the start of the Open Era, Dimitrov has reached three Grand Slam semi-finals and won 9 titles on Tour.
 

Junior career: World No. 1, two Grand Slam titles

A few years before his arrival at the Mouratoglou Academy, Dimitrov cut his teeth in the junior ranks, where he quickly dazzled the competition. As well as becoming world number one in 2007, the Bulgarian went on to win the Wimbledon/US Open double in 2008, beating Henri Kontinen and Devin Britton respectively. He was also a finalist in the Orange Bowl (a competition for under-18s), losing to Lithuania’s Ricardas Berankis. Dimitrov won 74 singles matches as a junior and lost 28 (42-20 in doubles) until 2008, the year of his transition to the pros.

ATP career: debut in 2008

Grigor Dimitrov turned professional in 2008, playing on the Futures and Challenger Tours and taking advantage of a number of invitations to ATP tournaments. Quickly dubbed the “Bulgarian Federer” for his graceful technique and extraordinarily loose one-handed backhand, he won four tournaments on the Challenger circuit between 2010 and 2011 (Geneva, Bangkok twice and Cherbourg). He played in his first Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon in 2009, benefiting from a wild-card after his junior title in 2008.

ATP honours: 9 titles

The biggest title of Grigor Dimitrov’s career is without doubt the ATP Finals in London in 2017. Launched by his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, Dimitrov put together a perfect campaign at the O2 Arena. He became the first player to play his first Masters and win all five of his matches since John McEnroe in 1978.

On the way to his final victory over David Goffin, Dimitrov beat Dominic Thiem, David Goffin for the first time and Pablo Carreño Busta in the group stage. To secure his place in the final, ‘Baby Fed’ defeated Jack Sock.

Dimitrov has won a total of 9 titles on the circuit, including his first in 2013 in Stockholm (indoor hard court) against David Ferrer in the final. His second title on the circuit, his first in the ATP 500, came in Acapulco (hard) against Kevin Anderson in 2014.

That same year, Dimitrov won his first trophy on clay in Bucharest and then the Queen’s in London on grass, beating Feliciano Lopez in the final, confirming his all-court qualities.

After two years without a title, the Bulgarian resumed his winning ways in 2017 in Brisbane and Sofia, then won his first Masters 1000 in Cincinnati before taking the Masters title by beating David Goffin in the final. His last trophy to date, in 2024, came in Brisbane.
 

Despite this, he failed to reach 12 finals on the circuit. In 2024, he reached the final in Miami (beaten by Sinner) after one of the best matches of his life against Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals.

In 2014, in the second round of the Madrid Masters 1000, Grigor Dimitrov scored the greatest victory of his career against the world number one, Novak Djokovic. The 2017 Masters winner has now won eleven times against the top 3 (Djokovic in 2013, Ferrer in 2013, Wawrinka in 2014, Murray in Miami in 2016, Roanic in 2017, Federer at the US Open in 2019, Thiem at the Australian Open in 2021, Medvedev in Indian Wells in 2021, Alcaraz in Shanghai in 2023, Medvedev in Bercy in 2023, Alcaraz in Miami in 2023). By 2023, Dimitrov will have achieved 400 wins on the ATP circuit.

UTS: finalist at UTS Frankfurt in 2023

Grigor Dimitrov took part in UTS, the innovative competition launched by Patrick Mouratoglou in 2020, 2021 and then 2023, the year he replaced Daniil Medvedev at short notice after his US Open final withdrawal. Nicknamed “G-Unit”, the Bulgarian reached the final of the tournament, where he was beaten by Andrey “Rubio” Rublev.

Grigor Dimitrov was brought up by two sportsmen: his father, Dimitar, is a tennis coach and his mother, Maria, is a former volleyball player. His dream opponents are Björn Borg and John McEnroe, and his favourite athlete is Tiger Woods. According to the official ATP website, Dimitrov writes down three things he is grateful for every night before he goes to sleep. He became an honorary citizen of his hometown, Haskovo, in 2016, and donated ventilators to the hospital there in 2020 to help those affected by COVID-19. He supports a number of Bulgarian and international foundations and initiatives aimed primarily at helping children