Grigor Dimitrov was on the verge of ending his career at least three times. The best Bulgarian tennis player in history admitted to problems such as panic attacks and anxiety attacks before the final in Stockholm.
In the title match, the former #3 in the world lost 4:6, 3:6 to Tommy Paul (USA). Dimitrov clearly did not have the energy to show his best game after the tough three-set semi-final with the aggressive Talon Grikspor (Nid) on Saturday night.
In the capital of Sweden in 2013, Grigor became the champion of a tournament on the ATP calendar for the first time. If he had won for the second time in 4 finals, he would have been the 10th person born after 1990 to have at least 10 titles. The others are Alexander Zverev (22), Danil Medvedev (20), Yannick Siner (17), Dominic Thiem (17), Carlos Alcaraz (16), Andrei Rublev (16), Kasper Ruud (12), Stefanos Tsitsipas (11) and Matteo Berretini (10).
“I’d be lying if I said I never had problems. I have experienced severe moments of anxiety and panic attacks even during a match. I think it is always helpful when one shares about such difficult situations. I think we should be more open with each other.
I know it’s hard because tennis is strictly an individual sport, I know it’s brutal, but at the end of the day we’re all human and no different from everyone else. That’s how it happens that we can play good tennis. But we don’t share about our problems, we should. This is not a sign of weakness, on the contrary. Showing that you are vulnerable is a sign of strong character. Everyone should listen to their own voice.
2019 was particularly difficult for me, when before the US Open I was 82nd in the world (78-i b.r.)and I started the previous season as #3. After a loss, I felt like the world was collapsing on me, and I wondered how that happened. In the morning I woke up like a rag, but I told myself – if you win, fine, if you lose – you take the next step. There is no other way,” said Dimitrov.
In the new world ranking, he is already #9, and in the one that determines the participants (8) of the ATP finals in Turin, he is 11th.