Grigor Dimitrov will make his fourth appearance at the ATP 500 in Barcelona joining a star-studded line-up which features 10-time winner Rafael Nadal. The Bulgarian star made his debut in Barcelona in 2008 when he played in the qualifying round but lost to Andrey Golubev. Later that year he won the Wimbledon Junior title beating Henri Kontinen in the fina. In 2011 he lost to Juan Monaco in the first round. In his third appearance he lost to Tommy Robredo in the second round
Grigor Dimitrov enjoyed his breakthrough season winning the Brisbane ATP 250 Tournament, the Sofia title on home soil, his maiden Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati beating Nick Kyrgios. At this year’s Australian Open he lost the semifinal to Rafael Nadal in five sets in one of the best matches of the year.
Dimitrov went on to celebrate the biggest title of his career at the ATP Finals at the O2 Arena in London after winning a three-set final against David Goffin. He fell behind in the ATP Ranking dropping to World Number 40 in July 2016 but he started his come-back in October 2016 thanks to the advice of Venezuelan coach Dani Vallverdu, who guided to the best season of his career.
He started the 2017 season in 17th position of the ATP Ranking and climbed 14 positions to end the year in third place behind Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Dimitrov has already announced that he will play in Brisbane, Melbourne, Sofia and Rotterdam in the first two months of the 2018 season.
“For the next year’s tournament it’s fantastic that we got the confirmation of such a very talented player like Dimitrov. Definitely Grigor was the best player in the last part of the season, playing a high level of tennis in London. I am convinced that the fans will be grateful that he comes to Barcelona where he has barely been seen. His fans are in luck. ” said Tournament Director Albert Costa.
The Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell featured five top 10 players including the then world number 1 Andy Murray. Nadal won his 10h title in front of his home fans.
