Dimitrov Motivated By Nadal’s Success

There may be an air of inevitability coming into the Mutua Madrid Open, with Rafael Nadal once again on a clay court rampage in 2018. But third seed Grigor Dimitrov is seeing the gauntlet laid down by the Spaniard as a challenge he’s up for facing.

Nadal comes into Madrid after his 11th tournament wins, respectively, in Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. He is on a 12-match winning streak in all competitions and is looking to retain his title in the Spanish capital. Dimitrov will be one of those tasked with stopping the Mallorcan, and is relishing the opportunity to keep working and get himself to a level on clay where he can try to bring down Nadal.

“For me personally, [Rafa’s success] pushes me to do better and to work on the things that I think I can do better,” Dimitrov told assembled media on Sunday at the Caja Magica. “It’s nice to have such a measuring cup – so to speak! He’s the greatest player out there on clay. With the way he plays, you know where the ball is going to be and how it’s going to come, you know what to expect, but there’s not much you can do.

“This is something I enjoy a lot. I love practising against him, I love playing matches. I think it’s great to have a reference like that to improve yourself. It pushes you to do better. You have to give 100 per cent… and try to exploit his weaknesses. You can find them, but the problem is sustaining it during the match.”

Dimitrov comes into Madrid after a solid start to the European clay swing, reaching the semi-finals in at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Nadal) and the quarter-finals at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell (l. to Carreno Busta). With Madrid at 700 metres above sea level, and the courts playing faster at altitude, the 26-year-old Dimitrov is hopeful of continuing his good run of form this week.

The Haskovo native opens his campaign at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament against Milos Raonic or qualifier Nicolas Kicker.

“I always like coming here a bit earlier. It always brings back good memories,” said the right-hander. “I enjoy playing here a lot. I think this is one of the events on clay that I really like. The clay is a little bit faster, so I really like that. It favours me. I’m looking forward to getting on the court. Everything is back to normal and healthy. That’s all I can ask for right now.

“I’ve never had a good relationship with Roland Garros,” said Dimitrov about the upcoming clay-court major, where he has never been past the third round. “But time has passed, and I’ve started the season pretty well on the clay. I want to keep playing that way and winning matches. When Roland Garros comes around, I hope I can do better. Simple as that.”