Dimitrov Faces Day Of Reckoning Against Federer

Grigor Dimitrov began to make good on his enormous potential last year, claiming his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title (Cincinnati), winning the Nitto ATP Finals and finishing the year No. 3 in the ATP Rankings.

Next on his to-do list is to address the imbalance in his FedEx ATP Head-to-Head records against the game’s very best. He is 1-10 against Rafael Nadal, 1-6 against Novak Djokovic, 3-8 against Andy Murray and 0-6 against Roger Federer.

Dimitrov has the chance to get to work Sunday in the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament final in Rotterdam, where he will look for his first win over two-time tournament champion Federer.

“My goal will be to win and at the same time, raise the bar even higher,” Dimitrov said. “In order for me to do that, I just need to play on the court the same way I’ve been practising. I’ll be focusing on myself, as I’ve said throughout the week.”

The Bulgarian is chasing the ninth title of his career and his first of 2018. The second seed is yet to drop a set this week in Rotterdam and is now 10-2 on the season. He reached the semi-finals of the Brisbane International (l. Kyrgios) in the first week of the season. After avenging his loss to Kyrgios in the Australian Open fourth round, he fell to Briton Kyle Edmund in four sets in the quarter-finals at Melbourne Park.

 Watch Live On TennisTV

 Watch Full Match Replays

Federer, meanwhile, is looking to continue his unbeaten start to the 2018 season and shore up his hold on the No. 1 ATP Ranking, which he will reclaim Monday for the first time in more than five years. If Federer wins the Rotterdam title, he will be guaranteed to remain No. 1 ahead of Rafael Nadal in the lead-up to Indian Wells.

Did You Know?
Dimitrov has won three of his eight ATP World Tour titles indoors: Nitto ATP Finals, Sofia (2017) and Stockholm (2013).