“Every Athlete Has an Expiration Date”: Grigor Dimitrov Opens Up on Retirement

Published 03/19/2021, 12:35 AM EDT

Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov has said he is where he needs to be in terms of fitness and form and hasn’t given any thought to his future in the game as yet.

Speaking to Eurosport, the current World Number 16 said that he is excited to have entered a new phase in his career where he feels he is more experienced and skilled at understanding his game and handling expectations.

Grigor Dimitrov says he is starting to understand his game a lot better

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Opening up on how it feels to be in this new phase, the Bulgarian, who will soon turn 30, said, “You start looking at yourself differently; understand yourself a little bit more and can cut the unnecessary things that surround you.”

With the old engine seemingly in fine fettle on the Tour, Dimitrov stormed into the quarter-finals of the ongoing Mexican Open on Thursday with a clinical 6-4, 6-2 over Milomir Kecmanovic of Serbia.

With focus firmly on tennis and breaking back into the Top-10, the Bulgarian said he prefers not to burden himself with things that won’t “add” to his “life”.

Dimitrov added that though physically he doesn’t feel like he is going to hit thirty soon, he is “maturing” in his head.

The 29-year-old, who came down with Covid-19 last year and battled its debilitating after effects for a while, said he intends to keep being in the hunt for titles as long as his body holds.

Grigor Dimitrov says he would love to keep playing as long as his body holds

“I would love to keep on playing as long as my body allows me to compete at the highest level,” Dimitrov said.

However, he added that while tennis is a big part of his life, he realizes that there will come a time in his career where he will have to embrace retirement.

“We’re athletes and every athlete has an expiration date, that’s how it is,” the Bulgarian said.

He added that playing tennis and battling for titles is part of a “dream” that he is living right now and “real life” will begin once his career ends.

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On the evidence of his recent run of form and results, retirement should be the last thing on his mind.

The Bulgarian reached the quarter-final of this year’s Australian Open on the back of some impressive wins, including a fourth-round rout of reigning US Open champion Dominic Thiem.

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Grigor Dimitrov Opens up About His Chances to Win a Grand Slam

However, he bowed out in the last-eight after losing to Russian qualifier Aslan Karatsev.

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Priyabrata Chowdhury is a tennis author for EssentiallySports. He has been a print journalist for a decade, producing news pages for leading national dailies such as the Hindustan Times and The New Indian Express. His passion for sports eventually drove him to tennis writing.

“Every Athlete Has an Expiration Date”: Grigor Dimitrov Opens Up on Retirement

Grigor Dimitrov says he is starting to understand his game a lot better

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Grigor Dimitrov says he would love to keep playing as long as his body holds