“I tripped on the carpet and Andy laughed at me” – Dimitrov shares memories of 2014 Wimbledon
Ten years on from his win over Murray in the quarter-finals, the Bulgarian still believes he can have a big run at a major
Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov, Wimbledon 2014 – © Tennis Mag / Panoramic
It hardly seems possible but has been 10 years since the greatest moment of Grigor Dimitrov’s Wimbledon career.
In 2014, the Bulgarian was through to the quarter-finals for the first time but found himself up against Andy Murray, then the defending champion, 12 months after he made history by becoming the first British man to win the title for 77 years.
On Thursday, Dimitrov reached the third round at Wimbledon with only his second comeback from two sets down in his career, a gutsy win over Juncheng Shang. Victory over Gael Monfils put him through to the last 16 for only the second time since that 2014 semi-final run.
The pre-match preparations didn’t quite go to plan.
“I stumbled on the carpet going into the match,” he said, in an interview. “Big time. Carpet is so freaking thick there. I had my spikes and I got stuck like two times. Andy was laughing behind me.”
So used to the walk on to Centre Court, Murray had to guide Dimitrov around the corridors.
“First time he actually helped (the stewards) to remember to show me the way because I totally forgot which way I had to go,” he said, admitting his nerves on the big occasion. “It was like going to his living room, like no, you’ve got to go straight and left downstairs and then left.”
“Near perfection”
Murray was expected to win but Dimitrov had other ideas, playing almost flawless tennis as he ruined home hopes.
“I remember the whole match,” he said. “It was a very, very straightforward match. I mean, I think definitely one of my one of my best straight sets wins. No doubt about that. Yeah, absolutely complete. It was a more like a clinical match that I executed. near perfection.”
“You have moments like that, I think, in everyone’s career. I think each one of us has own moment, in one way or the other.”
Dimitrov lost the semi-final to Novak Djokovic as the Serbian went on to win the title for a second time. He had a point to take it to a fifth set. “Set point I had served wide, I remember,” he said. “But he hit a return on the line.”
The one that got away
That was not quite the closest Dimitrov has come to reaching a slam final. Of his three runs to the last four of a major, the Australian Open of 2017, when he had break points to lead 5-3 in the fifth set against Nadal, was the most painful.
“I think the one that got away probably has to be the Australian,” he said. “That is the one where I thought to myself, had I won that match against Rafa, I think I would have had Roger in the final. “Still honestly now this is very hard to for me to believe at times how I lost that match. I have asked myself what else could I have done to in this moment? I’ve watched this particular game so many times. It was almost like a surreal five games after that. Even now it’s tough for me to watch.”
Dimitrov has returned to the top 10 in 2024, reward for the hard work he has put in off the court and on it, with his coach Jamie Delgado. While Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are favourites and though Djokovic is still at the top of the game, Dimitrov still feels he can have another big run at a slam.
“I believe that while I have a racket in my hand, I always have a chance,” he said. “It’s definitely more mental there than anything else but you also need to have a bit of luck to be honest.
“While you’re in it, you never know. You just have to give yourself the best shot and the best possibility to do so.”
