Grigor Dimitrov secures big rankings milestone at Miami Open to mark stunning renaissance

Grigor Dimitrov smiling

Grigor Dimitrov has guaranteed his return to the top 10 of the ATP Rankings after impressively defeating Alexander Zverev in three sets to reach the final of the 2024 Miami Open.

The Bulgarian revealed that beating top players in consecutive matches is what pleases him most from his superb run in Miami and his resurgent run of form.

Dimitrov overcame Zverev 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-4 in a thrilling contest in the semi-finals of the Miami Open on Friday to reach his third ATP Masters 1000 final. This was his second win against Zverev after he had lost his last seven matches against the world No 5.

The 32-year-old downed Hubert Hurkacz, Carlos Alcaraz and Zverev in successive matches to progress to the final. This is the first time he has beaten three top 10 players in the same tournament since the 2017 ATP Finals, where he claimed the biggest title of his career.

Dimitrov’s run in Miami means he will be ranked in the top 10 for the first time since November 2018. At 260 weeks, this will be the third-longest gap between top 10 appearances in ATP history.

Having reached a career-high position of world No 3 in 2017, Dimitrov is up to ninth place in the ATP Live Rankings and can climb as high as No 7 if he wins the Miami title.

Dimitrov will face world No 3 and Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner in the Miami final on Sunday. The 22-year-old Italian is the only ATP player other than Dimitrov to win 20 or more matches this year.

In his press conference after beating Zverev, Dimitrov was asked about the achievements of reaching his third Masters 1000 final and securing his top 10 return.

“For me, I think you miss one important thing for me is what’s better, above all that, I have been able to put those matches back to back,” the Bulgarian said.

“I think the consistency of beating top players, that to me is way bigger success than anything else. I mean, if you do that, you get the ranking. If you do that, things are just getting better for you. But in order to do, it’s where it all comes through.

“The discipline, the hard work, you know, all the dedication, the adjustment to very different players throughout that time, I mean, you need to be able to do that on a constant basis.

“That’s been happening for the past eight, nine, 12 months. It’s been difficult. I had very, very difficult match that I have lost and that I’m in a way still p***ed about. But I kept on believing, kept on doing the work.

“I think the discipline brought me I think to that moment. There is nothing else. I didn’t kind of deviate from my target, not even my goal. I had small targets throughout — every single week I had a target, and also to be able to put my body through all that on a daily basis was also very important for me.

“Every single day when I wake up and I don’t have a big pain that would stop me to practice 100% was already a success for me. So when you start putting all that together, I think it’s where I’m most, in a way, most proud with.

“Of course competing against top players and beating them sort of back to back, it’s definitely what I’m the most happy with.”