Grigor Dimitrov: It Was A Great Win Beating Novak, But It Was Only 2nd RD; I Need To Find A Solution For My Cramping
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Maybe the impressive takeaway from Grigor Dimitrov stunning 76, 67, 63 win over Novak Djokovic yesterday at the Mutua Madrid Masters is the 21-year-old’s understanding that there’s still more work to do. Dimitrov acknowledged that earning the biggest win of his young career was a fantastic moment, but the tournament is still ongoing.
“Of course it’s always great to win a match like that,” Dimitrov said after just his third Top 10 win against 19 losses. “Of course he’s the No. 1. Of course it’s a great feeling. But it’s just the beginning of the tournament. It was just second round if you think about it, so just got to get ready for the next matches and make sure that you can do that again.”
Dimitrov also talked about the drama that engulfed that Magic Box late in the second set as he neared the end of the match but was battling cramps.
“He played a great tiebreak, so I couldn’t ‑‑ I mean, I couldn’t do much,” he said. “Obviously I was struggling a bit with cramping here and there. Of course I tried to stay really positive. I believed in myself. I think that was the big sparkle coming into the third set. Well, I had an early break, so I was just trying to hang out there and keep it.”
While Djokovic question the crowds behavior, Dimitrov used it to his advantage.
“Well, I seriously didn’t expect that,” he said the crowd turning his favor. “That was the one thing that of course cheered me up a lot. It was definitely new experience for me, because usually you get that sort of a crowd when you’re playing Davis Cup or something like that. But I guess tonight was also one of these nights that kind of things are going your way and they’re there with you.”
Dimitrov, who also cramped in his tight loss to Rafael Nadal last month in Monte Carlo, also spoke about his physical issues saying they are getting better.
“Today I was better,” he said. “I was not crawling. I mean, let’s face it, it’s getting better. I don’t know. I must say I feel quite good. I was just talking to my team and I said, I feel good. It’s just a few muscles here and there not functioning the right way. Got to find a solution. Stress, I don’t know if it’s stress. I don’t believe in that too much. Maybe. Maybe. Could be.”
Dimitrov will play the winner of Stanislas Wawrinka or Santiago Giraldo tomorrow. The Bulgarian who also has been dating Maria Sharapova turns 22 a week from tomorrow.
Highlights from his big win:
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