	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

WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 19, 2017

Grigor Dimitrov

Cincinnati, Ohio

G. DIMITROV/J. Isner

7-6, 7-6

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Great win today. Sometimes it's nice to win a match that's kind of not so close, but going into a final tomorrow, how gratifying is it to really have to be pressed, play your A game, and come through?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, today was, I think, one of those matches that I really had to just be patient. I think that that was the key. I knew I'm not going to have that many rallies against John. I knew that he's going to serve big, bold serves.

I just had to be very composed and use every opportunity that I had. I think in the end of the match, it was just a few points that made the biggest difference for me.

I'm just happy obviously with the win, but I'm just happy with the way I kept myself together throughout the whole match. Just remained calm in those tough moments. I mean, I know it's nerve-wracking from outside, but it's even tougher when you're in there and have to receive a serve that comes 141 miles an hour.

So, yeah, I take a lot of positivity out of that match, and I'm just building up. This is how I like to see it. Tomorrow is the same thing for me. Just another match that I just want to come out and play the best way that I can. That's all I can count on right now.

Q. Very close, and obviously the difference was the tiebreakers. You played these against somebody who plays a lot of them. Do you, in the course of your practice, do you practice tiebreakers, simulated tiebreakers?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, I think we always do. Sometimes when we have an hour and a half, you know, with whoever we practice against, in the end we have five, ten minutes, if the score is, like, let's say 5-All and we couldn't finish practice on time, we're like, Let's play a tiebreak.

But it's very different, I think, for everybody. It all comes down to who's going to be better at one point, basically, and be able to sustain it.

Yeah, especially when you have big servers, that makes it even more complicated, because the stress is more, I would say. You know that even if it's 4-3 for you, you're like, I cannot lose that point. But, yeah, I think that's the beauty of the tennis.

Q. John said something really interesting. He said during the tiebreakers, especially, he felt like a nervous energy, almost a tension where you're -- you know, I don't want to say scared to go for a shot or something, but just a little tension there. He said he thought you felt a little better, were able to keep more calm during those big moments in the tiebreak. He said he didn't know for sure, but I bet you know.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, as I said, it's just different for every player. For him, the biggest thing was obviously the serve. So he was under pressure a lot, because I also thought I was putting a lot of balls back.

But, for example, I think the four match points that I had, he put four first serves and not a slow one. So for me it was -- I mean, I didn't think he was tight for anything, you know, (smiling). Maybe he was a little bit tired, I would say, but definitely -- yeah, in the end, it was pretty -- I think we were playing with our nerves in the end.

It's just simple as that when two players are going head to head and it's that close, this is what it all comes down to. We were just talking about it in the locker room now. He's like, Man, I never hit those big forehands.

I was like, Yeah, I know. I never seen anybody hit that wide serve so well four times in a row.

It's kind of nice to have it in the locker room and be able to reflect on the match.

Q. You and John?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, especially after such a battle. Yeah, it was just good to hear each other talking about how we felt in certain moments.

I was even telling him, That pass that you did, Man, on the forehand side, I was thinking of diving at this one. He says, Why didn't you? I was, like, Man, the ball was so high and you're so tall. No chance for me to dive. I thought about it.

He was, like, Well, thank God you did not. It was, like, You make me look like a fool. I was, like, Come on, Man.

It was great. It was a great way to talk. And John is a super nice guy.

Q. Your first Masters final. Does it feel like a big milestone? You have played a lot of these events.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: I think it's a good step. It's a good step. I have been on the tour for quite some time now, and I appreciate those moments. I'm starting to, I think, to appreciate them even more.

Being able to compete at a final, it's always a great feeling. No matter Masters 1000 or 250, it's always something that you work for. It all comes down to that.

For me, as I said, right now is just all about just going step by step and just building up not only my confidence, my game, to be able to do that pretty much every time I'm entering a tournament. And I feel good. I think the body is responding well. I have been playing good tennis, as well. So that actually helps.

Hopefully tomorrow is going to be one of those days that I can, again, produce good tennis. But not only that. I just kind of want to make sure that I'm going in the right direction.

Q. Thoughts on either Kyrgios or Ferrer in the final?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Two completely different players. Two completely different players. I'm going to watch tonight, for sure, to see how the match will go, but I need to see who's going to win. We don't know.

You know how David has been playing throughout all his career. Nick has been playing great this week. I watched quite a few of his matches, and he's been serving great and moving, so the hip seems to be better and everything.

I think it's going to be interesting to see how things will go tonight, but I think I'm going to think about it right after.

Q. You said that you have been on tour for quite a few years, and this is your first Masters 1000 final. Is it some kind of little weight off your shoulders, liberation after the semifinal in Australia where you got very close to get to a slam final? Does it mean anything in terms of one significant step towards a big win?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: It means to me. Of course it means to me, because this is something I can obviously check off my list.

I mean, I always had, like, higher goals for myself, and I think the biggest pressure I'm putting on myself, it comes from me.

But, yeah, I don't want to think that way right now. I don't want to be relaxed just because I'm playing in the final tomorrow. Oh, great, I got to the final. Now I can just take it easy. No. These are those moments where you kind of want to build a momentum, and it's so hard to get that kind of momentum on tour, especially with so many players that are playing good and competing. Everybody is playing well nowadays.

So I think it's so important to keep that momentum going, that game with you, and just apply it every single time to there is no more, basically. Just keep on going.

I think that's why the best players in the world have been doing throughout the years -- Rafa, Roger, Andy, Novak -- I mean, once they build the momentum, they were pretty much unplayable. You have seen other people doing it. And why not you?

I think a lot of players right now are knocking on the door. And it's different when you don't see the guys, for sure, playing quarters, semis, and they are not top 4. It's a completely different view on the other side of the net.

Yeah, I think that's how I look at things right now.

Q. Speaking of momentum, you got off to an exceptional start in 2017, playing very well. What do you attribute that to, and what do you attribute maybe the cooling off to your hot start to?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Well, I think the offseason. For sure the offseason. I started working, I think, earlier than everybody that last offseason, and I kept it for quite some time.

Yeah, coming to Australia, I like playing in Australia, I like the weather. The heat really helps me to, I think, to play better. I like my chances even more back then. So that's great.

Yeah, the clay court season wasn't the best for me. That, I think, is the only, I want to say, negative, but kind of something that I was a little bit down about because I grew up on clay. I mean, I like playing on clay. It's just a couple of times, pretty unfortunate loss, few match points here and there. It was kind of not easy, and you have those, as we said, the momentum, it kind of switched.

Yeah, I couldn't get too down on myself. I had to kind of regroup and take a step back. After Wimbledon I took some time off a little bit and kind of reflect on everything that I did this year with work, whatnot. Slowly starting to build up again.

But the most important is your mental toughness, how you prepare mentally for not only the tournament but to be able to come, let's say, for five, six days off and to come back to the court, it's not easy. It's not as easy as everybody thinks it is. You still feel a little bit down from your loss. You kind of, like, lost faith a little bit.

So this is something that you don't need to forget. Luckily I have a great team, great friends, great family around me, and they all kept me on a great level. I, myself, I think I was very grounded, kept doing the same thing. Yeah, simplify things. Control what I can.

Q. Not trying to break your momentum, but it kind of is a follow-up to what you just said, that losses can be your best opportunity to learn, and one of your least favorite matches was Madrid against Dominic. He saved five match points. Was there anything from that, though, that you took away and said...
GRIGOR DIMITROV: I can even go way back, even Indian Wells I had three match points. Great. Thanks. (Smiling.)

No, I'm kidding. I think losses, I think, they teach you the most, but it's tough. I'm not gonna lie. It sucks. It's terrible. You can't sleep for two days. You're pissed. You don't talk. You don't eat. I'm not gonna lie. Yes, this is how you feel.

But, yes, you're supposed to feel that way. You need to grow somehow. You're going to grow winning matches like today, and you're going to grow from losing matches like that.

But that's just as simple as that for me. Like, I don't want to get too down on myself, but in the same time, I don't want to fly high just because I'm playing well. No, it's just -- I just think tennis is such a simple game, if you think about it, a simple game for intelligent people. That's what my father kept telling me when I was a kid. Grigor, why you playing this? I'm, like, I don't know. I like this shot. He says, No, forget that shot. It's not a good shot. Why? He says, Tennis is a simple game for intelligent people.

Yeah, that's in my head nowadays. The same thing I guess off the court. You need to be intelligent, and I think also in sync with your feelings, and the way you perform after that I think really reflects on the way you practice, the way you eat, the way you are with the outside world. Because guess what? There's more to tennis.

Q. A lot of people think you're the most handsome guy on tour, perhaps the most handsome guy to ever play tennis. Who do you think is the most handsome guy on tour? If it is you, so be it.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: You're becoming very handsome with this kind saying to me. (Smiling.)

Oh, man. That's a tough call for me, isn't it? Let's talk about women or something else. Talking about guys...

Q. That too.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Guys. Wow. You caught me off-guard completely. Help me out here, Man. Anything helps.

Q. Answer the women question.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: No. I'm answering his question. That was the last question. He said last question. Go with Feli. I have always been an admirer of Feli, Feli Lopez. I like this guy a lot. He's just -- I mean, every time -- he's, like, fit and good and his long hair and the beard.

I'm like, Dude, you do good. Like, I wish I had his legs. His calves, man. He's strong. Every time walking towards the showers, I'm like, Show me those calves again. He starts laughing at me.

I guess him, yeah. Of course there are a few others, but this is the first thing that popped into my head.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297