Grigor Dimitrov was nothing but complimentary towards Kyle Edmund after seeing his bid for a first Grand Slam title come to an end at the hands of the British No. 2 at the Australian Open on Tuesday.

“Kyle deserves all the respect. He deserved to win, simple as that,” said Edmund. “He’s been working so hard the past months. I’ve seen that. There’s no point for me to say what I did wrong… it’s all about him right now. He’s the winner.”

The Brit, who moves into the first Grand Slam semi-final of his career, will face the winner of Rafael Nadal and Marin Cilic in the semi-finals. Having seen most of Edmund’s matches at the tournament, Dimitrov was philosophical about the 23-year-old’s chances of going all the way in Melbourne.

“Once you reach that stage of a Grand Slam, anything can happen really. It’s really how much you want it. These kinds of opportunities don’t always come… so once you have them, try to make the most out of them.

Taking just a week of rest after winning the Nitto ATP Finals in November 2017, Dimitrov has produced semi-final and quarter-final results at the Brisbane International presented by Suncorp and the Australian Open respectively. Now, with a tiring first month of the 2018 ATP World Tour season behind him, the Bulgarian star took a moment to address his immediate emotions after a tough loss.

“It’s hard to hide a disappointment. I am disappointed. It’s how I feel. It hurts, and so it should. Right now I won’t think too rationally, simple as that. I need to give myself a couple of days just to relax a little bit and do things I don’t get a chance to do during the tournament, and reassess the whole Australian trip.

“I think overall it wasn’t a bad one, but [it] certainly wasn’t where I wanted to be. That’s at least the positive thing, that there’s a little bit of a room that I feel I can improve quite a few weeks ahead of me. I need to be smart the way I’m practising now, not to overdo it again, but at the same time make sure I find my rhythm again, my game itself a little bit, the elements when I play. That requires quite a bit of work, but I’m certain I’m going to be able to do it and hopefully produce better tennis as the year progresses.”

The Bulgarian, with experience in turning losses into learning experiences, looked back in his post-match press conference to 12 months ago where he lost a monumental battle with Rafael Nadal in the semi-finals. The season he had after that loss gives Dimitrov positivity that he can rise, once again this year, after disappointment in Melbourne.

“It’s hard for me to admit that [positivity], but I have to,” said Dimitrov. I’m very critical with myself. I always want a lot from myself. When I don’t reach a certain goal that I’ve planned, it really drops me down. It makes me sad.

“But those are the moments that I think I’ve learned [from] throughout the years, like last year after [the Australian Open] was tough after I lost the semi-final. But, again, I still had to lift myself up and go on, pick myself up, dust myself off.”

Looking forward to the rest of the season, Dimitrov is focused on moving forward and taking confidence from many hard-fought wins on tough days in both Brisbane and Melbourne.

“The good thing in tennis is there’s always the next week,” said Dimitrov. “You can play every week that you want. But as I said, it’s just the way I’ve been playing throughout all the matches that was really something that I’m happy with, not on my best days being able to win and fight.

“[I am] sad that it came into an end. But there’s always that silver lining out there. I’m just going to try to make sure I see it a little bit more clearly right now.”

Former World No. 1 Andy Murray says he’ll be back “Soon.. Very soon” and that rehab on his hip is going “Really well.. Much better than I expected so far”.

The five-time Australian Open finalist was recently suffering from jet lag after his aborted trip Down Under and hosted a Twitter Q&A, #AskAndy.

I’m the only up with #jetlag anyone got a question for me? #askandy

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 20, 2018

The Scot received a fair number of non-tennis questions, such as “Will there ever be a boy born who can swim faster than a shark?” To which the witty Brit Murray responded, “I don’t know.. But if I crash land in a jungle will I be able to eat my own shoe?”

But Murray also entertained some tennis questions, including a couple about his right hip. He underwent surgery on 8 January in Melbourne after planning on competing in the 2018 Australian Open.

The 30-year-old has not played a match since 12 July at 2017 Wimbledon, where he lost to Sam Querrey of the U.S. in the quarter-finals. To be fair, Murray did say, “Soon. Very soon,” with a wink.

Soon.. Very soon?

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 20, 2018

He watches what he eats while enduring rehab in London. Murray said he enjoys “pancakes and Nutella for breakfast but I’m good the rest of the day.” He’s also spending a lot more time with his mum, Judy Murray, which seems to be going OK.

No.. It’s much more than it seems

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 20, 2018

And Murray made a very important announcement about Rafael Nadal’s fashion.

Sleeveless is better..

— Andy Murray (@andy_murray) January 20, 2018

It was a historic resurgence in 2017 for Rafael Nadal, who became the oldest player in history to finish atop the ATP Rankings, claiming the year-end top spot for the fourth time in his career at age 31. But the top seed can make more history at Melbourne Park, as he tries to become the first player in the Open Era to win all four Grand Slam titles twice, which he can finish off with a win at this Australian Open.

But the Spaniard will have his work cut out for him in the quarter-finals against one of the other two Grand Slam champions left in the draw — No. 6 seed Marin Cilic.

View FedEx ATP Head2Head for the following quarter-finals match-ups at the Australian Open & vote for the players you think will win! 
Dimitrov v Edmund  |  Nadal v Cilic  |  Federer v Berdych

“I know I’m going to have a tough opponent in front now [in] Cilic. I need to play aggressive and play well. That’s what I’m going to try,” Nadal said after a four-set win in the fourth round against No. 24 seed Diego Schwartzman. “All the matches are tough, and if you are in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam, you can’t expect an easy match. Against Marin will be a tough one, but at the same time, it’s a beautiful match to play against a great player. We know each other.”

The pair have played six times, with Nadal leading their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 5-1. The World No. 1 has triumphed in each of their past five meetings, winning 11 of those 12 sets.

FedEx ATP Head2Head Series: Rafael Nadal vs. Marin Cilic

“Throughout my career, I knew that if I’m playing well, if I’m top of my game, that I can challenge most of the guys on the tour,” Cilic said after his own fourth-round victory when asked about facing a tough opponent like Nadal. “I believe in my own game, I believe in what I’m doing. I think I’m moving the right direction. You know, it’s obviously a big challenge playing them, but that’s what we also work for in training.”

Nadal defeated Cilic twice last season, with both matches coming on hard court (Acapulco, Shanghai). But with that being said, both players have proven to be in good form in Melbourne, with the top seed dropping just one set thus far and the sixth seed only losing two sets.

But Nadal says that playing a tough opponent like Cilic is not all that different from other matches.

“[Whomever I play] today is the most dangerous player that I can play against, because [they are] the one that I’m going to play [today],” Nadal said.

Cilic is as dangerous as they come in the quarter-finals of a major, though, having won the 2014 US Open and advancing to the final at Wimbledon last year. The Croatian has a powerful baseline game accompanied by a booming serve to trouble anyone in the world when he is on form. And he is hungry for more success, too.

“My goal in this year is to win a Grand Slam. One or more would be good,” said a smiling Cilic. “Last year I reached No. 4 and No. 5, finished season at the No. 6 [in the ATP Rankings]. You know, it could have been in Top 5, as well. But looking at this year, my goal is to finish in the Top 5. It’s a big challenge, but I’m improving every single year. That’s a challenge that I want to succeed in.”

His first major challenge in pursuing that goal will be across the net on Rod Laver Arena Tuesday, when he faces Nadal for a spot in the semi-finals.