‘Those of us who love the sport want Roger Federer to be eternal’, says expert
Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov admitted that at first he liked being called “Baby Fed”, but over time he got fed up with being often compared to Roger Federer. “At first I enjoyed it a lot. I was grateful.
But over time, I said to myself: ‘Come on, he’s getting old.’ Yes, we have a kind of similarity. But we are totally different and we play very differently. I appreciate that fact. But there were times when I started to resent people who called me that.
He thought that he had shown over the years that he was a completely different player from him. Of course, we’re not even talking about achievements, just as a player. I was so glad that nickname was dead,” Dimitrov said at Tennis Majors, according to We Love Tennis.
Dimitrov, number 23 in the world, began his clay court season last week in Monte Carlo. Dimitrov, who prefers faster surfaces to clay, enjoyed a great week in Monte Carlo by reaching the semi-final before losing to Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Davidovich Fokina, 22, defeated Dimitrov in straight sets 6-4, 6-7(2), 6-3 to reach his first Masters final. Davidovich Fokina got the first break of the match in the third game and then held serve for him the rest of the set to win the first set.
Dimitrov started the second set with a 2-0 lead, but Davidovich Fokina responded with back-to-back breaks to rally from an early second-set deficit to take a 6-3, 4-2 lead. However, Dimitrov refused to give up and broke Davidovich Fokina in the tenth game, when the Spanish star was serving for the match.
Dimitrov dominated the second set tie-break to force a third set, in which he took a 2-0 lead.
Jose Luis Clerc on the GOAT debate
Former Argentine player Jose Luis Clerc has said that Rafael Nadal would end the GOAT debate for good if he wins Roland Garros this year.
Former World No. 4 Clerc has said that Nadal is on the cusp of tennis immortality, while Roger Federer might have won his last Major. Clerc said: “If Nadal wins Roland Garros, he will be the greatest of all time. The one who I don’t think will win another Grand Slam is Roger.
Those of us who love the sport want Federer to be eternal, but he is not. People tell me ‘Batata , Roger is the best,’ but for me the one who wins the most Grand Slam titles is going to be the greatest in history,” Clerc said.