Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov says it is simply a stroke of bad luck which has resulted in him exiting the Australian Open with an injury cloud over his head.
The 18th seed crashed out of the tournament on Tuesday in four sets to Russian underdog Aslan Karatsev who has become the first qualifier to reach a Grand Slam semi-final on their debut in the Open Era. However, the match is a case of what might have been for Dimitrov who had a one-set lead and multiple breakpoint opportunities in the second. However, as the encounter progressed the Bulgarian struggled with his movement on the court due to a back issue that first occurred just 24 hours beforehand.
“There’s no point to hide anything or whatever. I just got a back spasm yesterday (Monday) at some point, and that was it. We couldn’t fix it on time,” Dimitrov told reporters.
“I’m Just taking it in and trying to move on.”
To rub salt into his wounds, the 29-year-old didn’t suddenly suffer the back spasm whilst training or doing some sort of physical activity. Instead, he says it started whilst he was doing ‘regular movement.’ Leaving him with a bitter pill to swallow.
“That’s sport. Just super unlucky,” he said. “I felt great over all the past days. I felt I was on a good path. We’ve (my team) done great work. I was very positive and upbeat for whatever, whoever I had to play.”
“(Then) today I couldn’t put my socks on before the match, so I knew it was going to be a tough moment for me. I tried, but it was not good enough.”
It was the first time Dimitrov had reached the last eight of a major since the 2019 US Open. Earlier in the tournament he has scored wins over the likes of Marin Cilic and Alex Bolt before going on to stun third seed Dominic Thiem in the fourth round. Ironically out of the eight quarter-finalists in Melbourne this year Dimitrov spent the least amount of time on court.
Knowing that he was not at his best and taking painkillers prior to playing Karatsev, Dimitrov says his decision to continue in the tournament was driven by adrenaline. The men’s draw has been marred by a high number of injuries occurring. Matteo Berrettini, Casper Ruud and Dominic Thiem have all admitted to physical problems of some sort. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic had an abdominal issue but hasn’t publicly said what it is.
“I’ve played with a cracked toe and other things, but having a back spasm, everything goes through that part of the body, all the rotation, reactions,” Dimitrov explained.
“I love moving around the court, but when I’m not capable to use my motricity, my speed, my legs, my reaction, just everything becomes very insignificant. Whether you serve or hit a forehand or whatever, it’s just electricity kind of goes through your body.’
“Yes, I struggled; that’s fine. I’m admitting it, I’m taking it in. But please, give the credit to him (Karatsev) for today.”
Despite the blip, the former world No.3 believes he is still on the right track with the help of new coach Dante Bottini who had previously worked with Kei Nishikori.
“I’m just going to take the positives out of this situation. What just happened, happened. I cannot take it back. I need to swallow it. But at the same time I’m not just going to keep my head down. Today has been just bad luck. That’s what it is,” he concluded.
