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MUTUA MADRID OPENMay 7, 2013Grigor DimitrovMADRID, SPAIN G. DIMITROV/N. Djokovic THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. You had an experience against Novak earlier in the year when you had the game with the double faults at Indian Wells. How did you learn from that experience? GRIGOR DIMITROV: I mean, I still had couple of double faults today. Yeah, I mean, what can I say? I've learned a little bit from that match out there, definitely. It was a great experience for me today. Obviously I played him couple of times before, so I kind of wanted to do something else and try some new stuff on court, and that was it. Q. You have been kind of waiting for this moment for quite sometime. What was the emotion like at the end of the match? GRIGOR DIMITROV: I mean, of course it's always great to win a match like that. Of course he's the No. 1. Of course it's a great feeling. But it's just the beginning of the tournament. It was just second round if you think about it, so just got to get ready for the next matches and make sure that you can do that again. (Smiling.) Q. Do you see this success as a confirmation of your talent, since many people said during various years that you are the great promise of tennis? GRIGOR DIMITROV: First of all, I think that talent doesn't really win matches its. It helps you win matches, but doesn't win the match itself. Of course this has been what I've been working for, to play matches like that, and why not win them? Today was one of these days that I felt good on court. I felt I had enough hours of practice in the weeks before. I felt that I could actually hang with Novak the whole match. That's the whole purpose of getting ready for big events, I mean, and eventually for big matches. Q. Take us back to the end of the second set, the beginning of the third. Obviously seemed to us that you were having trouble moving around and you started the third set so confidently. What did you say to yourself at the end of second to get yourself in the frame of mind for the third? I mean, he played well I think in the ‑‑ I thought the tiebreak was pretty intense obviously.         He stepped up on a few shots. I mean, he's Novak. In the end of the day, you can expect anything from him. He played a great tiebreak, so I couldn't ‑‑ I mean, I couldn't do much. Obviously I was struggling a bit with crampings here and there.         Of course I tried to stay really positive. I believed in myself. I think that was the big sparkle coming into the third set.         Well, I had an early break, so I was just trying to hang out there and keep it. Q. Do you think the altitude in Madrid could benefit you somehow, or it was just a good day for you? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, of course. I mean, yeah, 600 meters is great. Ball bounces higher. I think definitely helps serving better. I mean, you can definitely use your serve a bit more obviously. I mean, plus the courts are really good. It's my first time playing this tournament, so I mean, so far so good. Okay, of course there are bad bounces here and there, but what else can you do? Q. I saw you in here four years ago in an ITF tournament in Alcorcon. Does that feel like a million years ago? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Now that you sayit. No, no, yeah, I remember that. What did I do? Q. You won. GRIGOR DIMITROV: Really? Q. Yeah. I congratulated you. GRIGOR DIMITROV: Oh, I'm sorry. Q. You were rushing off and couldn't wait for the prize. You had to go somewhere else. GRIGOR DIMITROV: Hard court? Q. Yeah. GRIGOR DIMITROV: Wow. Q. You played well. GRIGOR DIMITROV: Thank you. Q. Does it seem a long time ago? GRIGOR DIMITROV: It feels like it, yeah, definitely. I mean, I've lived in Spain I think three, four years ago. I was in Barcelona for a while. I been playing a lot of tournaments around here. I mean, Madrid, I been playing Barcelona, all over the place. I been traveling a lot in Spain. So it's kind of where I learned to play a bit better on clay. Q. I thought it was quite interesting how having started sort of evenly between the two, the crowd definitely got behind you and started cheering in a way that was quite thrilling to listen to. What was it like for you under pressure? GRIGOR DIMITROV: That's pretty good question. (Smiling.) Well, I seriously didn't expect that. That was the one thing that of course cheered me up a lot. It was definitely new experience for me, because usually you get that sort of a crowd when you're playing Davis Cup or something like that. But I guess tonight was also one of these nights that kind of things are going your way and they're there with you. I mean, of course I believe that some of them really wanted to see something else as well. You know, the whole fight in general, the three sets, I mean, it was a lot of fun, a lot entertainment for everyone. Okay, it was pretty tiring for us, the players, but, yeah, I think you just got to accept it and play with it. I mean, still, this is not the biggest stadium. Picture playing some of the slams or something that's even bigger. So I think if you try to understand the whole perception of going on court and having the people around and everything and deal with the pressure I think it's going to be easier in the long‑term. Q. Sometime in the second set you started shouting to your camp about food. What happened there? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Well, I got food. I got food, yeah, so that kept me going a little bit. Q. Can we say in a way that you are born a second time tonight because of the impact of this victory? GRIGOR DIMITROV: I am born a second time? Did I hear that right? THE MODERATOR: Yeah. GRIGOR DIMITROV: If I feel reborn? (Laughter.) THE MODERATOR: Do you feel relieved after this victory? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, but not too relieved. It's just the second round. I mean, definitely, as I say, I'm going to stay for a while, I think. It's just a great win. It's a great win for me. Good day at the office. Yeah, I mean, of course. I know it's a big thing, of course. But you got to stay on the ground. Hopefully you're going to face these guys for another years. It's just a match. You never know how it's going to be next time. Q. Just a match? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Just a match. Q. Can you talk a little bit about all work you made with your Swedish team? What was the yesterday? What do you expect with Magnus? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, we have been actually together now for around seven months. I think we started pretty good last year in December. I spent five weeks in Stockholm working really hard. The whole purpose was that I'm going to get better wheels on the court and try to use my game in a better way. I mean, I think the most important thing, which we're doing very good, is every day we try to work as, you know, like there is no match. So that's what I said. I've been practicing every day really hard. Doesn't matter if I'm going to have a match or not. That's maybe one of the causes for cramping a little bit. In general though, the whole point is that we have to work hard to get to a certain level, and then after that every next step would be a different thing for you. You really got to focus on what you have now and how can you make it better. That's why I think tonight was one of those nights that all of the work, all the pieces came together. I'm saying it was just a match. Yeah, that happened. You never know how it's going to happen the next day or day of after or next match. You got to be ready and try to work at it every day and see it as just another test to do and something exciting to look forward. You never know next time you're going to play any of the other big guys. So that's the whole point and the purpose of it. Let's not forget most of all you got to have fun going out there. Q. This is not the first time we saw you cramping. Roland Garros last year... GRIGOR DIMITROV: Yeah, that was beautiful. Q. Is it stress? Is it a physical problem? GRIGOR DIMITROV: Today I was better. I was not crawling. I mean, let's face it, it's getting better. I don't know. I must say I feel quite good. I was just talking to my team and I said, I feel good. It's just a few muscles here and there not functioning the right way. Got to find a solution. Stress, I don't know if it's stress. I don't believe in that too much. Maybe. Maybe. Could be. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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