Grigor Dimitrov was thrilled to have Serena Williams supporting him during his Miami Masters semifinal match against Alexander Zverev as the Bulgarian later revealed that he and the American tennis icon pretty much speak daily and admitted that it is “always very humbling” to have someone like her coming to support him.
Williams, a former 23-time Grand Slam champion, made a special appearance at the Miami Open on Friday. After following Jannik Sinner’s semifinal win over Daniil Medvedev, Williams was also in the stands for the remaining semifinal to cheer on her best friend Dimitrov.
Dimitrov, 32, has had a great relationship with the Williams sisters for many years now. With that being said, it wasn’t surprising at all to see the American tennis icon supporting very loudly the Bulgarian in Miami.
Serena Williams© Getty Images Sport – Brennan Asplen
For Dimitrov, having Williams in his corner definitely helped as he sealed a 6-4 6-7 (4) 6-4 win over Zverev for his first Miami final, in which he will be taking on No. 2 seed Sinner.
“She’s amazing. We stay in touch. We nearly speak on a daily basis. She said, I’m gonna come watch. I was, like, ‘Okay,'” Dimitrov said in his press conference when asked about how it felt to have Williams coming to watch and support her.
“It’s always very humbling to have such a supporter in your corner, and I think just before the match she came, we had a little chat.
“Actually, I remember she was even here when I had my first top-10 win. It was a very nice moment. I think we both remember that.
“It’s friendship, man. I think this is the best part. Tennis is tennis, but, you know, we are all living our dream right now. I think the real life begins after, and I think we have managed to be such good and close friends after so many years.
“And again, to be able to lean on, to share thoughts, ideas, and sometimes to even vent, someone that actually played tennis, right? It helps a lot.”
Serena Williams© Getty Images Sport – Elsa
Dimitrov on if he is ‘unlucky’ to have played in the Big Three era
When Dimitrov first showed up on the tennis scene 15 years ago, he was considered a major talent and tipped to do many great things in the future. Fast forward to 2024, has won on every level except the Grand Slam level as he has nine titles in his collection, including a Masters and an ATP Finals title.
While the 32-year-old has had notable success in his career, he has never managed to reach a Grand Slam final. Over the last 15 years, the Bulgarian has had several deep Grand Slams but many of them came to an end following defeats to either Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.
Most notably, Dimitrov was beaten by a Big Three member in two of his three Grand Slam semifinals – Djokovic (2014 Wimbledon) and Nadal (2017 Australian Open).
Not only that the Big Three played a big part in Dimitrov not making a really big Grand Slam breakthrough, they also prevented the Bulgarian from achieving more success on the Masters level.
But after beating Sinner to reach his third Masters final, Dimitrov was asked if he considers himself “unlucky” to have played in the era of Djokovic, Nadal and Federer. Against each member of the Big Three, Dimitrov has exactly one win.
Grigor Dimitrov© Getty Images Sport – Brennan Asplen
“Totally the opposite, actually. Totally the opposite. Very lucky,” Dimitrov answered.
“How often you say I played in an era against the best players and you have beaten them all? 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. But the journey, the ride, it was, for me personally, not having these guys around, it’s a little sad.
“I think throughout the years I have had so many quarterfinal matches and third-, fourth-round matches where I had to play against them. But that also maybe shaped me to have that mental toughness and to do certain things different at that point in my career, like them.
“You can certainly learn a lot from each one, very different.”
Dimitrov on returning to the top-10
By clinching three consecutive wins over top-10 players in Miami to reach the final – Hubert Hurkacz, Carlos Alcaraz and Zverev – world No. 12 Dimitrov ensured a return to the top-10 on Monday.
When Dimitrov – who achieved a career-high ranking of No. 3 in 2017 – returns to the top-10 on Monday, it will be the first time since 2018 November that he is in the top-10 club.
“I have been able to put those matches back to back. I think the consistency of beating top players, that to me is way bigger success than anything else. I mean, if you do that, you get the ranking. If you do that, things are just getting better for you,” Dimitrov said about his resurgence and a top-10 return.
Grigor Dimitrov© Getty Images Sport – Brennan Asplen
Heading into the Miami final, Dimitrov has one win and two losses against Sinner and despite his form, he enters the final as the underdog considering the Italian’s form this season. If Dimitrov manages to upset Sinner – who is 23-1 in 2024 – he will win his second Masters title.
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