Grigor Dimitrov takes off to old heights with a new coach
Grigor Dimitrov has already reached the quarter-finals at the Australian Open for the fourth time in his career. The Bulgarian has recently started working with Dante Bottini, whom Kei Nishikori trusted for a long time. On Tuesday, Dimitrov, who took part in the 2017 semi-finals, will face Russian Aslan Karatsev.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Feb 15, 2021, 04:34 pm
Just last November, Dimitrov started looking for a new coach for his supervisory staff. After finding out that Bottini was not looking after a player, he invited him to a test run in Monte Carlo. "We talked a lot about life and tennis," said Bottini in an interview with the ATP. "We got along well right from the start. He was happy and confirmed a few days later that he would like to train with me."
From Bottini's experience working with Nishikori, he already knew Dimitrov quite well. The two even played occasionally in doubles. "He surprised me because his potential is even better than I thought," said Bottini. "He's terribly talented." Bottini still has a few things in mind that Dimitrov could do better.
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Dimitrov can quickly implement what Bottini gives him. "It's been going really well so far." In preparation for the Australian Open, the current number 21 in the world reached the quarter-finals. At the Australian Open, he made it into the round of the last eight with wins over Marin Cilic, Alex Bolt, Pablo Carreno Busta (retirement) and Dominic Thiem.
"Grigor has to stay mentally focused," said Bottini. "He has to stay on target longer. Confidence in his physical condition, his speed and his agility has to increase. He doesn't have to rush anything because he has all the weapons he needs. He has to stay calm and realize that."
The work in Melbourne turned out to be difficult: While Dimitrov was able to train a few hours a day during the quarantine, Bottini had to go into the hard quarantine because he was traveling from Los Angeles. Bottini exchanged ideas with David Goffin's trainer, Germain Gigounon led Dimitrov's units, and the two formed a training group.
In the quarter-finals, Dimitrov should "do the same things" as before and follow the same routine, said Bottini. "It doesn't matter who comes, Grigor should concentrate on his game. He was very tidy, consistently positive throughout the tournament. I expect the same from him now, he was mentally very relaxed."