Grigor Dimitrov Gets Wild Card Invitation for ATP 500 Event

Published 04/08/2019, 8:32 AM EDT

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Grigor Dimitrov received a wild card entry at the Barcelona Open 2019 on Monday. The Bulgarian will participate in the event for the fifth time in his career. He reached the quarterfinals in the 2018 edition of the tournament.

Grigor Dimitrov returned at the Miami Masters after being sidelined from the tour following an injury in his right shoulder during the Australian Open. The 27-year-old reached the 4th round in Melbourne, losing to Frances Tiafoe in the course of 4-sets.

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Grigor Dimitrov was unsure if he’d be able to compete in Miami. But the former World No. 3 decided to take the court and won his first match since the Australian Open. He reached the round of 32 at Miami Open, losing to Jordan Thompson in straight sets.

The Bulgarian will start his clay court campaign at the Monte Carlo Masters. Grigor Dimitrov will also participate at the Barcelona Open after playing in Monte Carlo. He made a debut at Barcelona Open Band Sabadell in 2008. Grigor Dimitrov was just 16-years-old when he played for the first time in the tournament. His best performance came in the last edition of the event, reaching the quarterfinals.

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Grigor Dimitrov will join some of the top players on clay with the defending champion, Rafael Nadal. It would be difficult for Dimitrov as he has played only 3 tournaments in the 2019 season. His inactivity due to injury dropped his ranking on the ATP Circuit. He is currently ranked no. 29 in the world.

While Grigor Dimitrov continues with his official coach Dani Valverdú, he was advised by Andre Agassi at the Australian Open. He has already stated that he would like to share more traveling weeks with the former World No. 1. It would be interesting to see how the American advise the Bulgarian for the clay court season.

With the coming Grigor Dimitrov, the draw of the tournament enhanced, which includes four of the Top-10 players ( Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Kei Nishikori, and Stefanos Tsitsipas). The event also includes four other top-20 players (Daniil Medvedev, Karen Khachanov, Fabio Fognini, and Denis Shapovalov). The Barcelona Open will start from 22nd April with the championship match on 28th April.

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Written by:

Varun Khanna

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Starting off as a tennis author in 2018, Varun Khanna has gone on to contribute to EssentiallySports in various capacities. After setting up interviews with the likes of Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Alizé Cornet, and Noah Rubin, Varun is now part of all major ATP and WTA press conferences and has gone on to pen more than 1300 articles for EssentiallySports. He now heads the tennis and NBA division of the organization.
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