Grigor Dimitrov, known as the “Baby Fed,” has spent most of his life as a tennis pro lurking in the shadows of the all time greats such as Novak Djokovic, Nadal, Murray, and Roger Federer. Of the noteworthy players of his generation, only Marin Cilic has won a slam so far. Cilic has followed up that performance with an appearance in the 2017 Wimbledon final where it took the best grass player ever to beat him.
Grigor Dimitrov’s performance over the years
Grigor is lagging behind Cilic in the slam race and relegated to the ranks of a journeyman. In his years as a professional, he has won only seven ATP titles and none of those, except the 2017 Cincinnati Open, was a Masters 1000 tournament.
He is a perennial underperformer who is talented enough to be compared to the great Roger Federer but has not won a slam yet.
However, all that changed with his 6-3, 7-5 win over Kyrgios in the Cincinnati finals this year and he should be brimming with confidence about his prospects at the US Open. Even though Grigor has not won a slam, he seems quite ready to take that big leap and has beaten many of the contenders, for the US Open, at least once in the past.
Grigor Dimitrov’s prospects at the US Open 2017
Dimitrov’s game is very aggressive and beautiful to watch. His one handed backhand is solid and has enough variation to disrupt opponent's rhythm and end points. The big three losing their bite and two of them not playing this US Open, Grigor should relish his prospects now.
The hard courts of the U S Open should suit the playing style of Grigor, where he has reached the fourth round twice. Perhaps this time around Dimitrov has the confidence to go all the way.
Fresh off his Cincinnati win it seems this could be the year of Grigor Dimitrov. He took some noteworthy scalps in the tournament which included Nick Kyrgios, John Isner, Juan Martin Del Potro and Feliciano Lopez.
In 2017 he has also beaten the likes of David Goffin, Richard Gasquet, Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, and Dominic Thiem.
The U S Open draw, at least until the fourth round, seems kind to Dimitrov. In the fourth round, he could meet David Goffin who he has beaten six out of the seven times that they have met. If Dimitrov wins his fourth round, he is most likely to meet Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals, and Rafael Nadal has not won a hard court tournament in over two years whereas Grigor is on fire this summer.
Perhaps the stars are aligned for a Grigor slam this U S Open. We shall soon find out.
