Especially since there is a rumor about Sharapova being pregnant currently running around. But surely him and Sharapova are not stupid enough to let that happen at this point. They both still have too much tennis ahead in their lives to have to deal with a kid right now, especially Dimitrov. I hope it's not true because I'd like to see Dimitrov fulfill his potential, whatever that is. But maybe I have been a bit too hard on Dimitrov as well. After today I have a lot more hope for his tennis.
I thought he would make a bigger breakthrough this year after some good results, but then he kind of disappointed me. His results at slams was mostly the thing that bothered me because his best result was a 3rd round at Roland Garros. But in beating world #3 Ferrer 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 today my hopes have been restored. I didn't think he could pull it off especially after losing the 1st set, but to his credit he proved me wrong.
It was an impressive fightback and I enjoyed this match. It was a good contrast of styles between a grinder and a gifted shot maker. Even after losing the 2nd set I thought Ferrer would still prevail, so I am very impressed and happy with this performance from Dimitrov. Getting that first title under the belt is always a big deal. Maybe Dimitrov is not progressing as fast as I had hoped for, but those are unnecessary expectations anyway.
Dimitrov has not progressed as fast as the hype made you believe he would, and maybe he also felt overwhelmed by all that hype. The important thing is that he is slowly but surely moving up. Sure he is 22 now and not like Federer who had already won 3 slams at that age, but who says he is the next Federer anyway? Again those are unnecessary expectations that was thrust upon him. As long as he gradually improves like he has been for the last few years I still think he can be very good.
Who knows exactly how good but from what I've seen I'd say he certainly has the potential to win multiple slams. As a Fedfan I find him great to watch and in a game that is dominated by base line grinders and serve bots, someone like Dimitrov is a breath of fresh air. Lets just hope Sharapova is not pregnant because that can really interfere with his progress. And there is still plenty of time. Players seem to peak later these days anyway.
As for the other two events Gasquet won Moscow as he should have, while Haas won his second title of the year in Vienna. Nice to see that all the tournament winners this week had one-handed backhands. Who said the one-hander was dead? Gasquet was expected to win Moscow and he needed to in order to keep his hopes alive in qualifying for London, but in the end he was lucky to win the title 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 against Kukushkin. He looked nervous from the start and dropped the 1st set.
In the 3rd set he was a break down at 3-4 before Kukushkin missed a sitter overhead to get broken back. Kukushkin dropped serve again serving to stay in the match, clearly choking at the thought of his first ATP title. So I thought Gaquet was lucky and really didn't do anything special to win the title. I also think if it is close between him and Tsonga or Federer in qualifying for London he will find a way to choke. Tsonga lost in the semis of Vienna though and had his knee strapped again.
So he may not even be healthy for London. Raonic lost in the quarters of Stockholm as well which didn't help his chances of qualifying, and has subsequently withdrawn from Basel. So it looks like a 4-man race for the last 3 spots in London now. Stan and Fed looks pretty good to qualify I think and they will of course be in action in Basel this week. So will Gasquet. You can view the Basel draw here. I think Fed and Stan will probably qualify for London while Tsonga or Gasquet will fill up the remaining spot.
But of course anything can still happen. The last event this week which was played in Vienna was won 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 by Haas against Haase in the final. I thought Haas was lucky to get by Rosol in the semis because Rosol looked like the better player the whole match, but then in the final tie break he went down 0-6, broke his racquet, and received a point penalty to get bageled in the breaker. Really strange that. But credit to Haas for winning despite not playing his best this week.
They all count and Haas now has more titles than Federer this year. Fed will hope to win his second title of the year in Basel this week after having won his home title 5 times already. He has also lost in the final there twice in the last 7 years. So it has been a successful hunting ground for him and as good a place as any to win another title in a year that he has struggled a lot. I wouldn't bet any money on it though. I think Federer will be happy if he can just get a couple of wins under his belt.
And if he can do that while Dimitrov does the same, we will have our first Dimitrov/Fed encounter. I can easily see either player lose before the quarters though, so don't hold your breath. It should be a very interesting event anyway and will tell us more about who will fill the final spots in London. Paris will ultimately decide that though. The other event this week which is also an ATP 500 is in Valencia where Ferrer will be top seed again.
There is more news like Nadal's withdrawal from Basel and him and Djokovic's battle for the year end #1, but this post as already gotten too long. I will try to keep you updated throughout the week and focus most of my attention on Basel. Take care.
Full Dimitrov/Ferrer match:
Dimitrov Interview: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2013/10/42/Stockholm-Final-Ferrer-Dimitrov.aspx#ooid=9yNG40Zzo9CDR1ZZTzbwvwNuehE6yUUg
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