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FEVER-TREE CHAMPIONSHIP

June 19, 2018

Grigor Dimitrov

London, England

G. DIMITROV/D. Dzumhur

6-3, 6-7, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Job done today but probably could have been done a little bit quicker?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, absolutely. It was one of those matches that the only thing I'm happy with is just winning. I definitely could have done a few things better, but, you know, still my first match on grass. Little rusty, obviously. So, yeah, I mean, there is not much else to say on that.

I thought I could have done obviously a few things better, but overall I served well, returned well when I had to.

Those are all good signs for me. I just want to pick up that positivity and carry it on.

Q. Pretty tough next match. Novak has just won. Talk us through that matchup and what you're expecting.
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Just a match like a match. You have to go through matches like this in order for you to win a tournament. Whether it's early rounds or late in the tournament, you still have to beat those kind of guys.

Yeah, he played a very good match. I watched a little bit, obviously. Yeah, it's not going to be our first meeting, but again, I'm here to play, I'm here to compete and try to find a better game. Simple as that.

How else the match will unfold, I wish I could tell you, but right now I'm just focusing on one day at a time and one opponent at a time.

Q. You said it's not your first meeting but it is your first one since 2016, and he's been through a lot since then. He's had elbow surgery this year. How much have you watched him in recent times? How much do you think he's improved? Where do you think he's at now compared to the start of the year?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Well, we all have gone through a lot. Sometimes you see what we are going through in the press and everything, and some things are just as quiet.

Of course it's not easy when you come off of surgery or any type of injury. And you can see his level has dropped a little bit, yes. Everybody can see this. It's no secret. But again, I mean, he's been there, done that. He's won the tournaments. He's been able to turn matches or, you know, I guess adversity and everything. So of course, I mean, I'm going to expect nothing but the best from him.

Q. Obviously looking back on your performance today, what specific areas do you think you can improve on going into the second round?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Some of the decisions that I took today were not the best decisions on the court, and that's pretty much what I'm thinking about right now, certain forehands that should have gone in a different direction.

But not that, that much, to be honest. Again, one of the two most important elements are serve and return. So, yeah, this is what I'm really focusing on right now and just trying to serve, get an easy point from the serve, or make it easy on you. I think that's way more important.

Yeah, I mean, just cut down on the mistakes and use every opportunity you have from the opponent.

Q. We all know Novak's fame for his returning. How important is it that you serve perfectly against him?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, of course. As I said, serve and return are two of the most important elements, especially now on grass, not only in tennis. But this is what the game begins with, basically.

So, yeah, but as I said, I felt I served well today. I was hitting my spots pretty well when I had to. I was moving the ball away from the hitting zone, which is -- I mean, I'm very pleased with that. And in the same time I risked a little bit when I had to. I let the arm go on occasion on a couple of second serves.

All that is positive for me. Again, whatever it is tomorrow, tomorrow is a new day, and I'm going to just try to be better.

Q. Obviously it's the grass season. Would you like to see a longer grass court season, and would you like to see a Masters tournament played on this surface?
GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, I mean, obviously I would love to have as many tournaments as possible on grass. I think this is such a unique time, as simple as that. At least for me. I don't know how everybody feels.

We have limited time on the grass, so obviously we want to try to make the most out of it. I'm always trying to get as many practices as I can, as many hours as I can on the grass.

It's not just because for a tournament. I just enjoy playing on the grass. I think it's very important to keep that open, that freshness, that open mind. Sometimes even on a practice, I'm just free to do whatever I want. I think mentally that helps a lot.

I think a player like me to just come out and don't have to think I'm going to play backhand cross, slice down the line or forehand. You just hit the ball up and down just like anybody else that loves tennis.

I think I would love to see a couple more tournaments on grass, absolutely. But as I said, our calendar is so full already as it is, so in order for us to change that, we need to really look into, I mean, the calendar and maybe sacrifice some other tournaments, but I just don't see how that's going to happen in the near future.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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