He used to be called “Baby Fed” due to his similarity to Roger Federer but Grigor Dimitrov now has his own pro tennis identity.
The Bulgarian ended his best season to date of his career winning the Nitto ATP Finals in London beating David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 to win the season-ending championships during his debut.
The prestigious title marked the fourth title for Dimitrov in 2017 – a career-high – and it is the eighth of his career. Earlier this year, he also reached the Australian Open semifinals and won the ATP Masters Series title in Cincinnati, his best career tournament win prior to his triumph in London. Dimitrov will also rise to a career-high No. 3 ranking.
“This makes me even more locked in, more excited about my work, and for what’s to come,” Dimitrov said. “It’s a great platform for me to build on for next year. It’s going to be amazing in the off-season. I know what I have to do in order to do good.”
He became the first debutant to win the Nitto ATP Finals title since Spaniard Alex Corretja in 1998. To read more about the history of the event, also formerly known as The Masters, buy or download a copy of The Bud Collins History of Tennis here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559386/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_sPHeAb8TYM0H1
The Bulgarian, who finished 5-0 this week in London, earned $2,549,000 in prize money and 1,500 Emirates ATP Rankings points.
Dimitrov benefited from the withdrawal of world No. 1 Rafael Nadal and world No. 2 Roger Federer falling to Goffin in the semifinals. Defending champion Andy Murray and four-time champion Novak Djokovic also were missing from the event due to injuries.
