The stress of not winning is clearly getting to Grigor Dimitrov. Not familiar with him, you say? Allow me to acquaint you. He was actually called the “next Roger Federer”. He procured one-time Federer coach Peter Lundgren to guide him in his quest for greatness. He is also ranked a career-high 106 in the world currently. Yes, you read that right. The “next Roger Federer” is 19 years old and has not broken the top 100.
He is no longer coached by Lundgren, who has now moved on to Stanislas Wawrinka. And people aren’t saying the “Roger Federer” thing anymore either (which, come to think of it, is probably a good thing, since Richard Gasquet was also supposed to be the next Fed).
Please understand that I don’t hold it against Mr. Dimitrov for other people saying that he’s like Federer. The kid can’t help what people say about him and it is no crime to be one of the top 106 tennis players in the world.
Sadly, Mr. Dimitrov doesn’t seem to agree with me about the No. 106 thing. Either that or he had a really bad case of Court Rage...er...make that post-court rage.
Here’s what happened. Last week Dimitrov participated in a Challenger event in Helsinki, in which he lost in the semifinals to Richard Berankis. Players lose at Challenger events all the time. So, what’s the story here? Well, apparently Mr. Dimitrov determined that the loss was the fault of chair umpire Daniel Infanger.
And in a stroke of 19 year old genius, Dimitrov proceeded to track Infanger down after the match, shoved him in the chest (with both hands, a Finnish paper reports) and swore and screamed at him. They had to be broken up by a colleague of Infanger’s. I’m sorry...but whaaa??????????
Dimitrov was fined 2000 Euros for the attack and the ATP is investigating further to see if suspension is in order. Are they KIDDING me? They even have to debate that? Generally speaking, I have nothing against the Bulgarian, but physically assaulting a chair umpire is a BIG deal.
I understand “the heat of the moment” and how anyone can lose their head in the right situation, but there is a reason that the ATP has rules to protect officials. Can you imagine how dreadful the sport would be if we allowed players to physically intimidate our chair umpires and linespeople? It would be Jimmy Connors to the tenth power.
Look at the backlash the Serena Williams incident created. And in that case, all she did was yell at the lineswoman. I truly hope the ATP is swift and harsh in this case.
He is no longer coached by Lundgren, who has now moved on to Stanislas Wawrinka. And people aren’t saying the “Roger Federer” thing anymore either (which, come to think of it, is probably a good thing, since Richard Gasquet was also supposed to be the next Fed).
Please understand that I don’t hold it against Mr. Dimitrov for other people saying that he’s like Federer. The kid can’t help what people say about him and it is no crime to be one of the top 106 tennis players in the world.
Sadly, Mr. Dimitrov doesn’t seem to agree with me about the No. 106 thing. Either that or he had a really bad case of Court Rage...er...make that post-court rage.
Here’s what happened. Last week Dimitrov participated in a Challenger event in Helsinki, in which he lost in the semifinals to Richard Berankis. Players lose at Challenger events all the time. So, what’s the story here? Well, apparently Mr. Dimitrov determined that the loss was the fault of chair umpire Daniel Infanger.
And in a stroke of 19 year old genius, Dimitrov proceeded to track Infanger down after the match, shoved him in the chest (with both hands, a Finnish paper reports) and swore and screamed at him. They had to be broken up by a colleague of Infanger’s. I’m sorry...but whaaa??????????
Dimitrov was fined 2000 Euros for the attack and the ATP is investigating further to see if suspension is in order. Are they KIDDING me? They even have to debate that? Generally speaking, I have nothing against the Bulgarian, but physically assaulting a chair umpire is a BIG deal.
I understand “the heat of the moment” and how anyone can lose their head in the right situation, but there is a reason that the ATP has rules to protect officials. Can you imagine how dreadful the sport would be if we allowed players to physically intimidate our chair umpires and linespeople? It would be Jimmy Connors to the tenth power.
Look at the backlash the Serena Williams incident created. And in that case, all she did was yell at the lineswoman. I truly hope the ATP is swift and harsh in this case.
