Sport360°'s tennis expert Reem Abulleil looks back on the last seven days on Tour…
Rafael Nadal may have picked up a fifth title in seven tournaments this season but perhaps the biggest revelation of this past week in Madrid was Grigor Dimitrov.
And no I’m not talking about his confirmed relationship with Maria Sharapova – as intriguing as that may be – but I’m referring to the 21-year-old Bulgarian’s three-set victory over Novak Djokovic in the second round and how he’s slowly proving to be more than just a player with an elegant style that earned him the nickname “Baby Federer”.
Last week Dimitrov backed up his stunning 'hot shots' that have been regularly singled out by the ATP YouTube channel this season with a win over none other than the world No1 – Djokovic.
Dimitrov put together three sets of great tennis to pull off the biggest upset of his career and he now lies at a career-high ranking of 26.
That win also got Nadal to call him a “future Grand Slam champion”, which is as strong a validation one can get.
But before we jump the gun on Dimitrov, I think it’s imperative we wait and see what he can do in Roland Garros and the remaining Slams this season.
The Bulgarian is yet to advance past the second round in any of the Majors and after producing a stellar final run in Brisbane last January, he bizarrely lost in the opening rounds in Sydney and the Australian Open the following weeks.
A career path like that of Ernests Gulbis for example has taught me not to get too excited too soon. Gulbis was a young talent who beat Roger Federer in Rome three years ago and rose to No21 in the world after that. But he dropped to as low as 150 later on, and is just starting to fight his way back up now trying to avoid becoming the tour’s perpetual headcase.
Dimitrov has had his fair share of mental lapses which have kept me conservative in my expectations of him, but should he culminate his clay season with some strong performances at Roland Garros, I’m sure he’ll make a believer out of me and the rest of the tennis world.
THUMBS UP
Kei Nishikori for not getting steamrollered by Federer after dropping the second set and sealing an unforgettable victory over the greatest of all time.
Pablo Andujar for taking full advantage of that wildcard he received and making a decent run to the semis.
And Serena Williams for always finding a way to win even when she’s not at her best and her reward was a 50th career title.
THUMBS DOWN
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova provided the choke-of-the-week moment in Madrid. The Russian, who had just won the Portugal Open, was down 2-5 against Victoria Azarenka in the first round, pulled off four games in a row and had three set points at 6-5 40/0 in the second set but shanked six forehands in a row to lose the game, the following tiebreak and the match.
FUNNIEST MOMENT
After getting busted by paparazzi with Grigor Dimitrov in the streets of Madrid, Maria Sharapova wrote on the camera lens after her win the following day “how did you find us?”. Nice to see she has a sense of humour about it.
ARAB SPOTLIGHT
Tunisian teenager Ons Jabeur won the $50K ITF in Fukuoka. She has now risen 60 rankings spots in three weeks thanks to two title wins at home and in Japan and is now ranked 210 in the world.
Meanwhile, Egypt sealed promotion to the Fed Cup Group II following a nine-year absence thanks to the efforts of 15-year-old Sandra Samir, Magy Aziz and Mora Ishak.
WEEK AHEAD
Rafael Nadal has a chance to head to Roland Garros as the No4 seed if he manages to defend his title in Rome.
READ MORE:
– FEATURE: The harsh realities facing Egyptian star trying to make his mark
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