Grigor Dimitrov Bulgarian professional tennis player Date of Birth: 16.05.1991 Country: Bulgaria

1. Biography of Grigor Dimitrov
2. Junior Career and Early Professional Years
3. Rise in the Professional Circuit
4. Continued Progress

Biography of Grigor Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov, a Bulgarian professional tennis player, was born on May 16, 1991, in Haskovo, a historic city in southern Bulgaria. His father, Dimitar Dimitrov, is a tennis coach, and his mother, Maria Dimitrova, is a former volleyball player and instructor. Dimitrov received his first tennis racket from his mother at the age of three and started taking the sport seriously at the age of five. As a child, he was trained by his father, and when his talent became evident, he began training with foreign specialists, including Spanish coach Pato Alvarez, who had worked with British champion Andy Murray. Alvarez once said that Dimitrov was the best 17-year-old athlete he had ever worked with. Another famous coach, Peter Lundgren, even said that Dimitrov was even stronger than Roger Federer at his age.

Junior Career and Early Professional Years

Dimitrov's first significant victory came at the age of 14 when he became the European champion in his age group. In 2006, he won the Orange Bowl in the under-16 category, and a year later, he reached the final of the Orange Bowl in the under-18 category. Dimitrov made his debut in the Junior Grand Slam tournaments in 2008, reaching the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and winning Wimbledon, despite playing with a shoulder injury. This victory secured him a wild card for the 2009 Wimbledon Championships in the men's category. In September, Dimitrov continued his success at the US Open and became the world's number one junior player, marking the end of his junior career.

Rise in the Professional Circuit

In 2008, Dimitrov began regularly competing in professional tournaments. After his victory in the United States, he participated in the Futures tournament in Madrid and rose to 477th place in the world rankings, climbing over 300 positions. At the Davidoff Swiss Indoors Championships in Basel, he won his first professional match in the ATP Tour, defeating the 122nd-ranked player, Jiří Vaněk from the Czech Republic. In early 2009, he was granted a wild card to participate in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament in Rotterdam, where he defeated the 23rd-ranked player, Tomáš Berdych, in the first round before losing to top-ranked Rafael Nadal in the second round, winning a set against him.

Continued Progress

Dimitrov then competed in several Challenger tournaments, earning ranking points. In January 2011, he entered the top 100 best tennis players in the world, ranking 85th, and since then has been steadily moving up. Considering his age, Dimitrov has enormous potential. He reached the second round at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, and the first round at the French Open. His career-high ranking was 52nd on August 22, 2011, and as of August 29, 2011, he is ranked 57th. Dimitrov's height is 188 cm, weight is 77 kg, he is right-handed with a one-handed backhand, and prefers playing on hard and grass courts. He turned professional in 2008 and has been training with former world number seven, Peter McNamara, since June 2010. Dimitrov currently resides in Paris, France, but from 2008 to 2010, he represented the Bulgarian team in the Davis Cup. He has earned a total prize money of $453,481. Among his closest friends are French tennis player Jonathan Eysseric and Alex Bogdanovic, a British athlete of Serbian origin.