‘Baby Fed’ growing up fast
IN the moments following his demolition of Luke Saville, Grigor Dimitrov launched a ball high into the Centre Court crowd and very nearly hit a lady who had not been paying attention. It’s conceivable that the man known as Mr Sharapova was sending a wake-up call. Soon enough, he’ll have made a name in his own right; soon enough the established order of men’s tennis will start to fear the Bulgarian creeping up on them, if they don’t already. For make no mistake, the 11th seed who dates Maria is a special player. His is the shadow heading towards Andy Murray and a possible quarter-final meeting, a teenage prodigy finally making good at the age of 23 on the promise he showed in winning the junior titles here and at the US Open. In his second-round match yesterday, he demonstrated the all-round game me that has blossomed since he started working with coach Roger Rasheed last October. It is also remarked d that his relationship onship with Sharapova has brought about an enhanced dedication and professionalism. All facets were on show as he won at Queen’s and were obvious in the brutal efficiency of this 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win. Dimitrov’s backhand is one of the reasons he is known as Baby Fed — a comparison to Roger Federer that is known to rankle him, curiously — but it was his serve, which reached 135135mph, that did mmost the damage. He lost just 14 points off his deliveries all dday, blasting a further 38 winners off his forehand and that single-handed backhand. ‘I’m here for the long haul,’ Dimitrov said, before explaining the improvements on a game that before this year had only yielded a single third-round appearance in Grand Slams. ‘Roger (Rasheed) is a very tough but fair man. And I love to work. I love to give everything from myself every day. ‘Maria’s one of the best workers out there, one of the best students of the game. ‘I’m different towards my preparation and how I like things to be done. But I’m also a workaholic.’ The short-term goal is winning his tough third-round match against Alexandr Dolgopolov, but the longer aim is Murray and cracking the so-called ‘big four’ of men’s tennis. ‘I know we all want to break through,’ he said. ‘We all want to push through those Slams and start winning a few, which I believe is around the corner for any one of us.’