The Bulgarian has endured a torrid 2026 to this point.
Grigor Dimitrov has suffered with harm points (Picture: Getty)
Grigor Dimitrov was among the many shock losers from the opening spherical of motion on the Miami Open, but it surely appears set to price him greater than only a shot at this 12 months’s title. The Bulgarian was concerned in a tussle with Raphael Collignon, who simply edged the competition 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 7-6 (8-6).
It’s the most recent in an extended line of adverse outcomes for Dimitrov this calendar 12 months, having been dumped out of the Australian Open first spherical in straight units. For the reason that opening Slam of 2026, Dimitrov has struggled on tour, having received only one singles match and crashed out of a number of occasions on the first hurdle.
That got here at Indian Wells earlier this month, however such is the luck of the draw, Dimitrov was paired in opposition to Carlos Alcaraz within the subsequent spherical. His woes continued throughout the second half of the Sunshine Double, however the Collignon defeat seems to have reduce deeper.
That’s as a result of Dimitrov made it to the semi-finals of the Miami Open final 12 months, which was all the time going to be a giant ask to duplicate this time round. Nonetheless, a first-round exit wouldn’t have been on the playing cards for the 34-year-old, which means his rating factors have taken a hefty beating as properly.
His confirmed post-Miami rating received’t be identified till later within the match, however he’s assured to drop out of the highest 80 on the earth. It’s a stark distinction to the participant who was 4 video games away from knocking eventual champion Jannik Sinner out of the 2025 Wimbledon Championship only a matter of months in the past.
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The three-time Slam semi-finalist did properly to battle again from the harm that saved him out of a number of tournaments within the second-half of 2026. Commenting on the harm, he mentioned: “It took time to construct the muscle tissue again. It was a painful summer season. I couldn’t serve, couldn’t forehand, all that stuff. I’ve spent numerous time within the gymnasium. It was a progress in work, and seeing it now, it’s clearly onerous, however I’ve been listening to my physique.
“Final 12 months I felt prefer it began off my season fairly sturdy, so I’m wanting ahead to hopefully doing the identical factor. However yeah, you by no means know what to anticipate firstly of the 12 months. You’ve been working towards for just a few weeks straight, so hopefully the issues that I’ve been engaged on in apply can translate over.”
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