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BNP PARIBAS OPENMarch 15, 2015Grigor DimitrovINDIAN WELLS, CALIFORNIA G. DIMITROV/N. Kyrgios THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Sort of a strange end to the match there a little bit, eh? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, yeah. I mean, I didn't know what to expect anyway. When I was 5‑4 down and him serving for the match, I mean, what can I say? I'm definitely happy that I won. I thought I could have played the match definitely, I mean, different than how the result is. But, I mean, it's tennis, and anything can change from one point to the other. Q. You were aware that he was hurting, obviously, yeah? GRIGOR DIMITROV: I was aware after the game. I didn't see him falling at all. I did not see that. Probably that's why I missed the ball. He hit a good shot. Anyway, I thought the ball was out, but what could I have done? What I could have done better is put the ball in the court, that's for sure. But as you said, it was a strange end. Q. Can you give us a sense of what makes his serve so difficult to break? GRIGOR DIMITROV: I think he's tough to read, and especially when the court is very lively, like today, it doesn't really, I mean, help the returner to sort of find a good position and to return. I mean, I think even though he was down, sometimes he was going for big second serves. You know, he was swinging freely, which helps, you know. You basically, you know, just gotta put the ball in the court somehow. Even though that I was 5‑4 down, in a way I knew where he's gonna pick his first two serves. That was definitely a big plus for me. After that, I think it was just a matter of a few points, and definitely my mental side was better I think in the end. Q. Can you talk about the season overall, your season? GRIGOR DIMITROV: I have had I think an all right start, so to speak. It's still early in the year, so still trying to find my game. A little bit different since I have been working on a lot of things. I think it just takes a bit of time to really find that rhythm. Coming to the tournament, to any tournament now, I feel much more comfortable, much more confident. I have been out there on those kind of courts. I think it's definitely an advantage for me. I know how to respond when I play in a different time of the day. That I think all adds up and helps a lot. But I think the game still needs to improve a little bit more. Needs a bit of a sort of polish up. Every time I get the chance to‑‑ when I'm home and practicing, every time I get the chance to work on something, I do it. Usually it's very tough when you break a habit. To come out there and play under the circumstances, under the pressure and all those kind of things, it's never easy to change it right away. I think I still need a little bit more time to sort of put all my forces into the way that we structured our game. Q. There was a little bit from frustration I guess in Acapulco. GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, I mean, every time I don't perform well there is always frustration in a way. I think I was a little bit overwhelmed with my frustration. There were a few unsettled parts outside of that. I think it's tough mentally to, you know, really deal with that. But in the same time, going into a practice session and be, you know, like sort of thought‑free and just focus on what you have got to do and how the practice session should go. So, you know, I had a little bit of a rough patch. I'm not going to lie for that. But things seem to be really bright right now. You know, I fought hard for this match today. I mean, this is how I have been playing also lately, and especially last year I have been fighting a lot for a lot of matches. Even though I was down I was able to come back, and I think this becomes a really good quality in me. I think I'm going to keep it. Q. When you were just talking about adjusting things or working on aspects of your game, what are the priorities for you that you feel have been attended to first, second, third? GRIGOR DIMITROV: I can't put them in order. Yeah, I'm sorry about that. I can't put them in order, because sometimes it's frustrating to have so many tools in your bag. It's hard to pick the right one. Here I can start with that. But there is just so many things. I mean, especially when you come on the practice court, there's just days that I have been playing, you know, for example, hitting cross backhands down the line for like 30 minutes. Next day it's been sort of a general practice going through all of the motions and going through all the shots. I feel that every time I stepped on the practice court I had a goal, and my goal was to really cut down on sort of all the negativity that I was building up when I missed, let's say an easy shot and taking the right decisions. All those kind of things just take I think so much time. I feel that I have been not struggling, but I had some problems with it before. I think slowly I'm becoming, you know, a better player. Becoming definitely a student of the game. I'm starting to love the game even more in a way, to accept more, and I think that gives you the opportunity to put yourself in a better way when you're out there on the court. Like, for example, today I was 5‑4 down. I didn't put my head down for a second. I just kept fighting. Q. You take less than 20 seconds to serve. The rule is forcing the slow servers to adapt. Could you comment about this a little bit? GRIGOR DIMITROV: How long you can do, 25 seconds was it? I haven't thought about that, to be honest. I think this is just my habit. I mean, I haven't worked on that if you ask me that. (Smiling.) I think I'm the least guy that has problems with the 25 seconds. I haven't thought about that. I mean, the rule is there, so you either use it or you just go on your own terms. When I play, I like to do it on my terms. Q. He's a very different style of player. How would you characterize Kyrgios' style of play? GRIGOR DIMITROV: You caught me off guard. (Smiling.) He's an extravagant player, obviously. He tries a lot of different shots, a lot of unstandard decisions. You know, I don't know how can I just say with one word what kind of player he. I mean, he is still yet to come up there. He's been having really good results. He's been playing really good tennis. Yeah, I can't really just say that he's that type of player or this, because I haven't seen ‑‑I mean, I have watched him play quite a few matches. None of the matches look quite the same, which I think he's still trying to find his best way. You know, when he's out on the courts trying to find his best game. So, you know, all those things, again, do take time. I'm sure he will be the first one to let you know when he knows exactly or maybe he does already. Q. This was billed as a sort of future generation match. Were you happy to have won it because of that? Is Nick the best player younger than you that you've played? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, it's always good to have an edge over, you know, a certain player. But I think that thing gets ‑‑it gets old, because nowadays everyone is playing good tennis. Everyone can beat anyone if you think about it. I'm sure that's not going to be our last match against each other, and I'm sure we will have a lot more battles. It started that way, so I hope it continues that way. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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