Love matches delayed rise

– Maria Sharapova’s ex-boyfriend Grigor Dimitrov (below) admitted his relationships may have delayed his emergence as a top player as he extended his hot streak at the Australian Open yesterday.

The Bulgarian heart-throb has long been touted as one of tennis’s next big things, but he reached only his third major quarterfinal with his win over giant-killer Denis Istomin.

Dimitrov, 25, beat the injury-hit Uzbek 2-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2, 6-1 to reach the last eight and stretch his winning streak to nine matches after he won this month’s Brisbane International.

Afterwards, the man known as “Baby Fed” for his Roger Federer-style play was asked whether romantic entanglements may have sometimes been a distraction from tennis.

“I obviously have a soft spot for that,” joked the world No 15. “On a serious note, I always try to keep whatever else outside the court.

“I think when I was younger, I was struggling to kind of differentiating love from a personal love or a tennis love or whatever else. There was time that I wasn’t sure how to deal with both things in the same time.

“But you learn. I guess we grow. I mean, I don’t want to say I’ve learned from my mistakes, but I’ve learned myself a little bit better. I think that helps me. Hopefully it’s going to help me for the future through any kind of falling-in-love stuff.”

Dimitrov, who split with Russian star Sharapova in 2015, will face Belgian 11th seed David Goffin for a place in the semifinals in the lower half of the draw.

Istomin, the bespectacled world No 117, showed the effects of a demanding tournament following his sensational second-round upset of six-time winner Novak Djokovic. His game deteriorated after losing a second-set tiebreaker and despite medical treatment, he had trouble getting around the c ourt as Dimitrov charged to victory. – AFP

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