BNP PARIBAS OPEN

October 13, 2021

Grigor Dimitrov

Press Conference

G. DIMITROV/D. Medvedev

4-6, 6-4, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did you turn that around? Down a set and a double break. It was like a Houdini escape.

GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, I mean, I don't know. I guess I stayed in the game. I think it was very important to stay in the game. Been watching quite a bit of his matches. I really wanted to play this match to be completely honest. I think what he has been able to accomplish this past, like, year and a half is pretty amazing. I think it really pushes me also to do better.

So, yeah, the first two points at 4-1 was where everything started to turn around for me a little bit. I think little by little I was just trying to stay in the game, stay in the moment, and really fight through every opportunity I had. I really had to go for it.

Of course, at some point I really had to alter my game a little bit to kind of adapt towards the lead, of course. After the second break, was 4-All, then I had a very good service game. Then, yeah, I didn't expect to break him at 5-4, but I picked up on all the serves he went for. His percentage of the serve dropped a lot. That was giving a lot more looks for me.

Q. It's been a couple of years since you've beaten one of the top two players in the world. You just said you really wanted to play this match. Were there nerves? How did you feel going into the match? Did you feel you were in a good enough position to score such a win?

GRIGOR DIMITROV: Good question. Of course, there's nerves. I feed off those nerves. I think it's great to have 'em. It means that you care and you really want to go out there and play and give your best and see what's going to happen.

But I think coming into California - I'm going back to San Diego - was a very, very particular way the way I was preparing before that. Even after the tournament in San Diego I felt like I needed to kind of keep on that line. I felt a lot of belief. I felt that I could do some damage out here.

I always wanted to do well out here. I felt like I had so many chances throughout the years. I've lost very close matches, matches from match points and everything. In a way, I was very determined to come out in the desert and really give it all I had.

I think also everything pays off a little bit at the moment: the practice, the preparation, how we structured things with the team.

Q. You've had many amazing wins during your career. Considering his ranking and the way the match went, where would you rate this?

GRIGOR DIMITROV: I really don't want to rank this type of match. I want to look at it right now as just another match. As I said, he's been the guy that has been playing the best out of everyone and always finding a way.

Again, I actually admire his way of playing and doing things. It was a great, great match for me to win. But that's not the end. That's just another match at the same time. So I got to stay focused and I got to look what's ahead of me and move forward, I guess.

Q. There's been a lot of talk of people going up in space. Today William Shatner went up and came back down on the Blue Origin. Would you ever contemplate something like that? How do you think you'd feel?

GRIGOR DIMITROV: Good question. I've thought about it I think a few times, even at times when you watch some sort of like movies or documentaries or something like that. We see what is happening nowadays, that you can have those three, four minutes up in the air there.

I don't know. I'm kind of nervous in a really, really tight space. But seeing the earth from above, I guess I'd have to practice a little bit for it (smiling). But, I mean, I might be up for it. I'm just not there mentally for it. I think it's pretty amazing, though.