World No. 15 Grigor Dimitrov shared his thoughts on achieving his 100th victory at the Masters level on hard courts. This milestone came after his win against Karen Khachanov in Miami, in a match that concluded 6-7(3), 6-4, 7-5.
Amongst active players, only Novak Djokovic (271), Gael Monfils (108), and Stan Wawrinka (100) have also reached this significant number of wins on hard court Masters events.
“It`s great,” Dimitrov said. “Last year, I think I reached 100 wins indoors, and now this. I think reaching each of these milestones is wonderful. When I feel that I am still able to compete, to do what I need to do on the court, everything else is a bonus. It`s just another plus in the resume. I don`t take anything for granted – especially that I can still compete with young guys and love the game,” the 33-year-old Bulgarian was quoted by the official ATP website.
Dimitrov also commented on his resilient victory in the match:
“We know each other very well, we practice a lot together, so there is no secret [to the victory]. It all came down to a few points. Even in the first set, I took more points than him and still lost. I had to stick to my tennis.”
He added, “I understand that I am playing well, but I can raise my level a little bit. I believe I can perform even better.”
Marcus Prine