	products recent interviews FastScripts archive about ASAP Sports

Our Clients:

Browse by Sport

Find us on

Subscribe to RSS

Click to go to
Asaptext.com

View our
e-Brochure

BRISBANE INTERNATIONAL PRESENTED BY SUNCORP

January 7, 2016

Grigor Dimitrov

Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

G. DIMITROV/V. Troicki

5-7, 7-6, 6-2

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Happy to come through that one. It was a tough one.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, yeah. Good, good. I'm happy. I'm happy, that's for sure. Viktor is a pretty tough opponent. He served unbelievable today. I think I was definitely struggling a little bit at the beginning of the match.

But, yeah, I mean, it was good. It was a good match for me. That's how I see it. And I'm happy that after two hours 45 minutes my body felt really well. I took the heat pretty good.

So, yeah, on to the next one.

Q. What do you step away from that match like that most proud of? Is it the fight? A big shot? What's the positive?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: I think quite a few good shots, and I think I fought really hard. I think I was down a set and a break, so that was -- I mean, it's not easy to regroup and get back into a good rhythm.

But, yeah, just physically I was happy because I knew I was wearing him down a lot and playing my game a little bit more towards the end of second set and the whole third set.

So that gave me a lot of confidence, and in the same time a lot of fuel to keep going and to end up the match in that style.

Q. You might play Roger tomorrow. Can you comment on that?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, I mean, it's not going to be my first match against Roger. We all know Roger. There is nothing new we can say about that.

I'm going to focus on my game. The most important thing for me right now is to focus on myself and the game and just try to put my game the way I want it. You know, structure it what I've been practicing, working on, and if he comes up with the goods, that's fine.

Q. Can you talk about your coaching situation? You changed coaches twice I think last year.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Twice?

Q. Didn't you?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: No, not twice. No, I stopped work with Rasheed, and then, yeah, started working with Johan Ã–rtegren. Yeah, towards the end of the year I put Franco Davin on board so that's...

Q. You're still with the same...
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah.

Q. I thought Davin was like...
GRIGOR DIMITROV: No, no, it's just all official now. That's how we structured the seem. Yeah, we spend quite a bit of time together in the off-season. We had good sessions, good days on the court.

Yeah, year has begun, so let's keep going.

Q. You're still with the Good to Great Academy?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: I'm not with them. Just Johan, the guy who works with them.

Q. In the off-season did you change anything in particular?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Not really. I think just worked on details, minor things. I kept my fitness level pretty good, which I was very happy with.

Just worked a lot. That was it. It's about repetitions and see basically how the past year passed. I just wanted to see how -- like how Franco sees the game or if we're on the same page and all that.

So took a bit of time to find the right rhythm and the right exercises and everything. It's all about routines in the end of the day.

So, yeah, we had quite a few good days, as I said out there on the court. Yeah, it's all about playing matches right now.

Q. So in 2016 do you need to be more consistent this year? More aggressive?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: I mean, I think I've always been aggressive when I play. I think that's my style, I think. But consistency is always the key. I think if you play well and have consistent results everything else come with it.

Yeah, just want to play. Just want to play. That's all I want to do right now. And focus one match at time, and whatever the outcome is, to put my head down and just keep working again until one day everything just becomes better and better.

Q. Are those the kind of matches, like the one today, that you feel like you've got to execute more this season to get back into the top 10?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. First match I played Simon. That's not the best draw you want to get. Then again Viktor is a top 20 player for the past year. We have to go through matches like that. There is not an easy match going to be out there for me.

But I know what it is. It's not my first time. Yeah, sometimes you got to play on the outside courts. Yeah, just got to go back to the basics. But I think, I mean, I enjoy it. I enjoy what I do, so I don't look at it that way.

Q. Surprised at about Federer? He's 34 years old and still ranked No. 3. Gets to the top all the time. Pretty amazing overall?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, of course. Of course. I mean, the results speak for themselves. Yeah, what can you say about it? Everything is just said and done out there and he's still one of the best competitors out there. I mean, the greatest player out there.

So, yeah, I mean, I'm sure there is still a lot to come. It's just how it is. If you love the game and obviously you've achieved a lot, everything becomes pretty natural after that, I suppose.

Q. With Djokovic, is he going to win another three slams this year? Four slams? Is he actually playing that well?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: I haven't played with him I think the past year. He won everything that was out there. You never know. If he keeps going that way and if he keeps performing the way he's been performing the past years, everything is possible.

As I said, there is a lot of us that are also like pretty hungry and we want to win and we want to prove ourselves. So let's see how the year would unfold first.

Q. Was there some frustration at the end with the chair umpire as far as calls during the match?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah. I mean, it's normal when you don't have the Hawk-Eye and a little bit of shade here and there. Tends to get -- you know, you a little tense if it's a tough point or -- and then you have a tough call.

So that's inevitable part sometimes. I apologize, whatever it is. No, we're all good in the end.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297