Grigor Dimitrov turned philosophical thinking about Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner in a recent interview, wondering aloud how the duo could change as they got older from the ‘fearless’ youngsters they are today. Dimitrov, 34 years old, is more than a decade older than the 23-year-old Sinner and 22-year-old Alcaraz.
2024 and 2025 have been largely dominated by the stars from Italy and Spain, with the pair winning all six of the Grand Slams. Sinner has won two Australian Open titles and one US Open, while Alcaraz has won two French Opens and Wimbledon.
This week, they have reached the fourth round at Wimbledon again (Alcaraz is already in the quarterfinals), where Sinner is scheduled to take on Dimitrov on Monday. Speaking ahead of the clash to the National, the Bulgarian shared his thoughts on Sinner and Alcaraz, stating that there was no doubt they were the two best players on the ATP Tour at the moment.
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At the same time, Dimitrov offered a different perspective using their age, opining that the fact that they have been so successful so far could end up working against them at some point in the future.
“If you think about it, the two guys, they're the best two players right now. They've clearly won the Slams and everything. Also, for me, it's very interesting to look at it from a very different perspective in a sense that you have two 22-year-olds that don't know what failure is yet. They've never lost. The experience of life matters a lot," Dimitrov said.
“They haven't seen the bad side of life in a way. Nothing against them, they're the two greatest players at the moment by far, by far. But if you look at it also a little bit from psychological points of view and the environment that they're in and everything, with all due respect, they were playing the final [in Paris] and neither one of them had ever lost the final of a Slam," he added.
Grigor Dimitrov, in a cautious note, believed that the fearlessness the youngsters enjoyed now would one day go away, demanding them to explote other opportunities that lay ahead of them.
“It's kind of funny when you hear it. I was laughing. Actually, I was like, ‘yep, I get that’. Then why wouldn’t you be fearless? But then with age, we all know that fear comes very differently. It creeps in. It's not even about being fearless. It's about exploring your opportunities. And they just go for those opportunities. But I think with time, let's see how everything else would unfold,” Dimitrov said.
"I feel great" - Grigor Dimitrov ahead of his Wimbledon battle with Jannik Sinner
Speaking in the interview, Grigor Dimitrov also opened up about his mental make-up ahead of the Wimbledon battle vs Jannik Sinner, stating that he was feeling great and looking forward to playing the World No. 1.
"I'm here to play. I feel great. After three matches to be where I'm at physically, really gives me a good, positive and upbeat way to get out there and play my game,” Dimitrov said.
“That's all I want, is to put myself in those type of positions, to get out there and play against these guys right now. This is in a way the most important thing for me,” he added.
Should he beat Sinner, Dimitrov will likely face Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals at SW19, with the American poised to beat Lorenzo Sonego in the fourth round.
