“Defending a lot of points doesn’t scare me!” – former finalist Dimitrov
The Bulgarian dismissed suggestions that he might be thinking about defending the haul of points he won in Miami last year
Grigor Dimitrov, Indian Wells 2025
Image Credit: Tristan Lapierre / Tennis Majors
Grigor Dimitrov has a lot of points to defend at the Miami Open, having reached the final in 2024, where he lost to Jannik Sinner.
The Bulgarian is making good progress this time round, seeded 14th and edging Karen Khachanov 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5 in an enthralling Round of 32 encounter to get through to the last 16.
However, he said after the win that he wasn’t fretting about hanging on to the points, and was being kind to himself following the injuries that kept him out of action at the start of the year, beginning with mid-match retirements in Brisbane and the Australian Open.
“This is one of the toughest things in our sport,” he said, “to always defend, whether it’s a big title, many points, stuff like that.
“But I’m really not focused on that, to be honest. All I’m after is my own game because I missed a lot at the beginning of the year – I think quite a bit of frustration on my end for that – so also I cannot really expect much from myself.
“Even last week, this week, in a way I’m having these tournaments a little bit more as a build-up rather than trying to achieve something, but I always like my chances when I’m doing the right things, and whoever I play, I know I have a chance too so that itself has to give me that confidence that I’m able to assert myself and stay strong no matter how many points I have, no matter my ranking, and no matter whatever number [it] says on my name.”
Dimitrov: I’ve been on both sides of the net
He added: “In saying that, it’s more important for me to be happy and fulfilled when I’m playing my game rather than losing beautifully and dropping ranking and stuff. It’s very important to have that fight, to have that fire.
“I’ve been on both sides of the of the net. I’ve experienced both sides of everything, so if you think you can scare me with defending points, I mean, you’ve got to give it another go!”
