7 Years After Being Ripped Apart by Roger Federer, Grigor Dimitrov Confesses to Still Bearing the Scars

Grigor Dimitrov, the highly praised player for his mind-blowing performance in the final match of the Miami Open 2024, wanted to “dig a hole and disappear” after losing to Roger Federer in Wimbledon 2017. Since his 2008 professional debut, he shared courts with the Big Four of tennis, securing his position in the chronicles of the sport. But with time, the 32-year-old is up against a new challenge: finding his identity in the face of the ascent of young, explosive players like Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Well, despite an amazing performance, he couldn’t beat the 22-year-old Italian. On that note, Dimitrov has recently shared his feelings about the 7-year-old match with the 42-year-old Swiss tennis legend, the player with whom he has “suffered the most with.”

Grigor Dimitrov’s thoughts on disappearing after facing Roger Federer at Wimbledon 2017

In the post-match press conference of the Miami Open 2024, Dimitrov was asked about facing defeat from the Big Three and the rising tennis players. In response, the 32-year-old player said, “I know for me I was going to say the toughest player that I have played at his absolute prime was Roger. Just too funny, actually. I remember a few times even at Wimbledon, once I remember it was just — I wanted to dig a hole and disappear (smiling).” 

Apparently, both of them played against each other, back in the 2017 Wimbledon in the round of 16, where even after giving a lot, the 32-year-old tennis star was not able to achieve victory. On the other hand, he added, “I haven’t had that feeling yet against anyone, so I will leave it at that, I guess. Yeah, probably that’s going to be the player I felt like, yeah, I suffered the most with.” 

However, just a few days ago, the Miami Open finalist also talked about playing in the era of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray.

“I can live with that” – Dimitrov on playing in the Big Four era

During a media interaction, he was asked whether he considered himself unlucky to play tennis in an era dominated by tennis giants such as Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Murray. Well, in his response, he clarified to take it positively – “It’s great. I’m sorry, but I can live with that. You know, all that, the titles, and all this, yeah, it’s great.” 

Subsequently, he also said that he has no regrets about the time in which he played tennis, and his journey without the Big Four would have been nothing. Further, Dimitrov added, “I don’t want to play them, don’t get me wrong (smiling) at the moment, but it’s kind of sad.” Just like any other tennis player, he also loved competing against them and watching them play on the court.

Nevertheless, what are your thoughts on Dimitrov’s revelation regarding his defeat against Federer? Let us know in the comment section below.

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