Dimitrov eyes Grand Slam after winning ATP Finals at London

PARIS: Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov climbed to a career-high world ranking of third on Monday after landing his biggest title to date at the ATP Finals in London.
Dimitrov, 26, defeated David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in Sunday’s final at the O2 Arena to move up three places — behind only Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer — after a breakthrough year featuring four titles.
Alexander Zverev dropped one spot to fourth after failing to advance past the round-robin stage in London, while Jack Sock, beaten by Dimitrov in the semi-finals, rose one place to eighth. Goffin, who will spearhead Belgium’s bid for a first Davis Cup title this weekend against France in Lille, clawed himself up to seventh after his run to the final. Nadal remains at the summit despite withdrawing from the end-of-season finale with a knee injury after losing his opening match, while Federer trails the Spaniard by 1,040 points following his semi-final exit. Nadal, who increased his Grand Slam haul to 16 with wins at this year’s French and US Opens, had already sealed the year-end number one ranking for the fourth time — after 2008, 2010 and 2013.
Grigor Dimitrov set his sights on winning his first Grand Slam after his dramatic victory at the ATP Finals on Sunday gave him the biggest title of his career. The Bulgarian sixth seed held his nerve to beat Belgium’s David Goffin 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 in a gripping contest at London’s O2 Arena, finally sealing the match with his fifth championship point.
The victory takes the 26-year-old to the dizzy heights of third in the rankings behind only Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as he begins to deliver on his rich promise. Nicknamed “Baby Fed” early in his career for the similarity of style in his game to the Swiss, Dimitrov has struggled to live up to the comparison and was as low as 40th in the world in mid-2016. But he has bounced back strongly to enjoy the best season of his career in 2017, winning four titles in all, including his first Masters title in Cincinnati.
Dimitrov has never been beyond the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, reaching the last four at Wimbledon in 2014 and repeating the feat in Australia earlier this year. The ATP Finals have had an unusual flavour this year, missing Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic while world number one Nadal was forced to pull out injured after his opening round-robin match. In a huge shock, Roger Federer was ousted in the semi-finals by Goffin.
But Dimitrov said it was too soon to proclaim a new era and write the obituaries of the “Big Four” who have dominated tennis over the past decade and more.
ATP rankings on November 20:
1. Rafael Nadal (ESP) 10,645 pts
2. Roger Federer (SUI) 9,605
3. Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 5,150 (+3)
4. Alexander Zverev (GER) 4,610 (-1)
5. Dominic Thiem (AUT) 4,015 (-1)
6. Marin Cilic (CRO) 3,805 (-1)
7. David Goffin (BEL) 3,775 (+1)
8. Jack Sock (USA) 3,165 (+1)
9. Stan Wawrinka (SUI) 3,150 (-2)
10. Pablo Carreno (ESP) 2,615
11. Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG) 2,595
12. Novak Djokovic (SRB) 2,585
13. Sam Querrey (USA) 2,535
14. Kevin Anderson (RSA) 2,480
15. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) 2,320
16. Andy Murray (GBR) 2,290
17. John Isner (USA) 2,265
18. Lucas Pouille (FRA) 2,235
19. Tomas Berdych (CZE) 2,095
20. Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) 2,015.