Grigor Dimitrov and Novak Djokovic are very good friends off the court, and the Serbian comforted his friend after beating him in the 2023 Paris Masters final.
Dimitrov has not had the type of success Djokovic has had in his career. He's still had a really strong career, one of the better ones we've seen in recent years. He's been Top 3, he's made deep runs at Grand Slams, and he won an ATP Masters 1000 title before.
This week didn't see him conclude the way he wanted to, but it was his best week in years. It's the first time he made an ATP 1000 final since 2017, so there is plenty to be happy about.
Even so, we're all humans; we are sad when things go our way, and Dimitrov was in tears after losing to Djokovic on Sunday. The Serbian noticed his friend crying and went over there to comfort him a bit because he'd shown himself to a really emphatic person more than once.
Djokovic mentioned Dimitrov in his interview on the court following the match, remembering his own losses in the final.
He admitted that there were far fewer than wins, but still, any loss hurts, and it's not something you ever get used to.
"I’ve been in these situations before many times. Losing finals. I’ve been blessed to of course, win more finals than I’ve lost. I really hope he will continue to play at a high level. He’s been playing some of his best tennis this week and I wish him all the best. I hope he can win big events."
We'll see what happens in the future, but this week is certainly something that should give the Bulgarian optimism. As for Djokovic, there is no time to rest. Turin is coming up, so expect him to fly over there in the coming days and get ready for the ATP Finals.