Grigor Dimitrov gave tennis enthusiasts a lot of good memories in the 2024 season at the age of 33. Dimitrov won the Stockholm Open and made the finals of the Miami Open this year. He also became a part of the 9-member club to make it to the quarterfinals of all Masters 1000 tournaments and Grand Slams.
Besides his achievements, the person that Dimitrov has become has impressed many. As a result, he won the ATP Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship of the Year Award, an award which has previously been won by the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz. This award is decided by the players on the ATP Tour after they receive the nominees from the International Tennis Writers Association, who are basically the jury.
It is a possibility that Dimitrov, through his foundation in Bulgaria, is helping in promoting tennis in the Balkans. The fact that he was able to convince Novak Djokovic to play against him for his charity a few months ago, was a masterstroke.
Recently, the World No.10 was bold in speaking up about the fact that he has suffered from mental health issues many times in his career, making it an important thing to talk about and combat.
Dimitrov has something very important to say. Please, listen.
He has been dealing with anxiety, panick attacks and loneliness. It is important to him to open up as a man.
This is an important topic.
Interview done by @SpilXperten, who as the only written media present. pic.twitter.com/FM8v5YeOi4
— Nicholas Albek (@Nicholas_Albek) October 19, 2024
Dimitrov was backed by the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas for his take, as not many players would have the courage to slam administrators for their way of scheduling.
The fact that Dimitrov is amongst the few active players from the 2000s era, which was dominated by Federer and Nadal, makes him a senior statesman on the ATP Tour now. But 2024 was not the only year in which Dimitrov exemplified sportsmanship to such a level that he deserved to win the award more than once.
Dimitrov’s top moments of sportsmanship over the years
It would be fair to say that the term ‘Dimitrov 2.0’ seems to be media-made in 2024 because of him breaking his 7-year streak of winning an ATP title, which was at the Brisbane International in January. What added to the glitter is that he made it to the US Open quarterfinals for the first time in 5 years.
However, when it comes to his sportsmanship, Dimitrov has been a quality guy. At the United Cup 2023, the Bulgarian forced the chair umpire to overturn a foot fault which his opponent, David Goffin was accused of doing by the line judge. Dimitrov asked Goffin to serve again as he believed the decision was ‘b**s***’.
In 2021, TennisTV came up with a compilation of Dimitrov’s 6 sportsmanship moments which can never be forgotten. One was at the Miami Open 2014 when the crowd chanted ‘Grigor, Grigor!’ and applauded him for escorting an unwell ball girl to the sidelines and seeking medical help for her, providing her with a fresh towel meant for him, as well.
In the Brisbane International 2018, Dimitrov famously ran over to the other side to the net immediately after his opponent, Kyle Edmund of Great Britain injured himself badly during one of their rallies. The Bulgarian star, along with Edmund’s physio, helped him walk back to his bench and allowed a medical timeout for the same.
The only plausible theory is that Federer and Nadal were much bigger stars in their pomp, who had the aura of superstars when they walked out to the tennis court or even any room for that matter. And yet, they exuded positivity and grace, making them role models for their opponents.
Had the ATP Sportsmanship Award been shared, Dimitrov would have been a prime candidate to split the honors even with those big names. In this matter at least, he deserves to be called ‘Baby Federer’.
2024-12-14 03:38:09