By Richard Pagliaro | Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Returning to Stockholm, site of his first ATP title and his former training base, gives Grigor Dimitrov reason to reflect on his game.
A recent resurgence has elevated Dimitrov back inside the Top 20.
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While the 2013 Stockholm champion is pleased with his upward mobility, he's trying to stay level-headed about his future.
"It's so funny because after a week of doing good, your goals, your expectations change drastically," Dimitrov told the If Stockholm Open web site in this video interview. "And I think this is the moment for me to really appreciate first what is happening with me.
"But at the same time to just keep on going the same way without thinking what I've done let's say wrong or what I've done good just keep on the same line. I think this should help me a lot."
Since losing to 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic in the opening round of the Rio Olympics, Dimitrov has posted a 14-5 record, defeating seven Top 25-ranked players in that span, and reached his third final of the season in Beijing earlier this month.
Three reasons for the world No. 18's recent rise:
Attention to Detail
Playing with more precise footwork has helped him run around the backhand and assert his authority with his forehand.
Backhand Drive
When Dimitrov is drawn into rallies that test his one-handed backhand, he's been thumping the top-spin backhand with more confidence as he did defeating Rafael Nadal for the first time in Beijing.
Fresh Perspective
Coach Dani Vallverdu has been a fresh voice for the 25-year-old Bulgarian, who once changed coaches nearly as often as tournaments change balls.
Vallverdu, who was dismissed by Tomas Berdych following the Czech's humbling double-bagel thrashing at the hands of David Goffin in Rome last May, has tried installing proactive patterns based on two of Dimitrov's best weapons, his forehand and athleticism.
During a US Open practice, Vallverdu placed towels as targets on court and had Dimitrov repeatedly play the short-angled inside-out forehand then dance around the backhand to fire the finishing forehand down the line.
Dimitrov, like second-ranked Andy Murray who beat him both at the US Open and in the Beijing final, is a creative improviser who can be at his free-flowing best during running rallies.
The challenge for the world No. 18 is establishing patterns he can impose on pivotal points. When deadlocked 5-all, 30-all, for instance, Dimitrov must show he can play assertive points with a clear plan rather than relying solely on his mobility to grind out a point.
Dimitrov says his partnership with Vallverdu is still a work in progress, but aspires to lift his level.
"Everyone knows Dani Vallverdu's been working with Berdych, with Andy Murray for a long time so I think he's super experienced in his area," Dimitrov said. "He knows tennis very well, which obviously helps a lot.
"We're still starting to find our rhythm together. It's still pretty new. But I think we've come a long way since we started working together. We've been having quite a few good results, keeping up a good level. I think this is the primary focus of what we're doing right now is to stay healthy and try to not only improve but have pretty much the same results, setting up the bar at some level but trying to get better from then on."
Three years ago, Dimitrov made his championship breakthrough in Stockholm becoming the first Bulgarian man to win an ATP singles title in the Open Era.
Dimitrov dug in and played inspired tennis to rally for a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over then world No. 3 David Ferrer in the final. It was Dimitrov’s second straight successful fight back, coming a day after battling back for a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Benoit Paire in the semifinals.
That level of resilience has been lacking in Dimitrov at times this season. He's 9-17 when losing the first set and has dropped all three finals he's played in 2016, including his racquet-smashing manic meltdown in the Istanbul final in April. That emotional collapse sent Dimitrov into a hideous six-match losing spiral.
Aiming to extend his positive play, the second-seeded Dimitrov will play either Benjamin Becker or Jurgen Zopp in his Stockholm opener.
If the man whose made a career of winning style points can continue to play with confidence on critical points, then the best of Dimitrov is yet to come.