Grigor Dimitrov missed out on a lot of trophies due to playing at the height of the Big Four, but it's something he wouldn't change about his career.
One thing this Miami Open run to the final by Dimitrov proved is how great of a player he truly is. It's been a delight watching him play for the past year because he's been really good.
This has been some of the most consistent tennis he's played in a long time, and he's going to be back in the Top 10 of the ATP Rankings thanks to that. His career might not be remembered as the most spectacular one, but that had often very little to do with him.
He played at a time when the Big Four, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray, were dominating tennis, and he still made it to world number 3 at his peak.
That's memorable, and while they did take away some trophies from him, he wouldn't change that. It's been a privilege to clash with them over the years, as he revealed at the 2024 Miami Open.
"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."
It's a really fascinating perspective from Dimitrov, but it makes sense. From a personal satisfaction point of view, his journey has been amazing, even if he missed out on a few trophies. Not only did he play those legends, but he also beat them.
"I don't want to play them, don't get me wrong (smiling) at the moment, but it's kind of sad. I love watching them play. I love competing against them, and you can always learn something."
"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."
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