Dimitrov on US Open retirement: 'It's a combination of everything'
Grigor Dimitrov’s quest to reach a fourth major semi-final and first since 2019 ended in disappointment on Tuesday at the US Open, where the former World No. 3 was forced to retire during his match against Frances Tiafoe in the fourth set.
The Bulgarian was trailing 3-6, 7-6(5), 3-6, 1-4 when he walked to the net. After the match, Dimitrov shared the details of his retirement.
“I think it’s a combination of everything,” said Dimitrov, who won a gruelling three-hour, 39-minute five-set match in the previous round against Andrey Rublev. “Clearly my rehab process is a little bit slower than before. I mean, I felt a couple of things prior to the match. It’s the game. It’s just the game, and I need to keep my head up.
“As I said, I just need to reassess a little bit of certain things that I can change. Can maybe do a little bit better. Also physically to the way that I have been preparing. But again, given all the circumstances from Montreal up until now, I wasn’t really sure I’d be even able to do as well as I wanted to do. And again, that’s what I’m saying I take this quarter-final any time.”
Dimitrov suffered a third-round exit in Montreal and then lost in his opening match in Cincinnati. He bounced back in New York to reach his second major quarter-final of the season (Roland Garros).
However, physical issues have been a problem for Dimitrov in the latter stages of majors, with the 33-year-old also retiring in the first set during his fourth-round match against Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon.
Dimitrov is determined to learn from his problems but reveals it is mentally testing.
“It doesn’t get easier, I tell you that much. But when you’ve done certain things a certain way throughout your career, I think a lot of moments outside of tennis really humble you in a very different way,” Dimitrov said. “That’s why when something like that comes around, for sure I take it and I hurt with it, you have to. I don’t want to just brush it off.
“I put it aside, but also I have a lot of exciting things ahead of me. I’m going to get home, and try to rest a little… heading to Asia to finish the year off. So you see, when you put it that way, of course you want to be here and fight for the trophy, but there’s always a brighter future in that sense.
“So will I hurt? Yeah for sure and it should. But I don’t want to just put it aside. I want to also reassess myself and everything that I’ve been going through, throughout these past three, four weeks and see the plus and the minuses. What can I improve, what I could have done better, what I need to do.”
[ATP APP]Dimitrov leaves New York in contention to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time since he won the prestigious year-end event in 2017. The nine-time tour-level titlist is 10th in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, 470 points behind eighth-placed Alex de Minaur, who in the final qualification spot will play Jack Draper in the US Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.
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