FILE PHOTO: Tennis - ATP 500 - Rotterdam Open - Rotterdam Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands - February 17, 2024 Australia's Alex de Minaur reacts after winning his semi final match against Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw/File Photo
(Reuters) - Grigor Dimitrov is set to climb back into the top 10 for the first time since 2018 after beating Alexander Zverev on Friday to seal a spot in the Miami Open final, with the Bulgarian saying he is finally reaping the rewards of his hard work.
Dimitrov had been touted as a potential winner of the biggest prizes in tennis since becoming Wimbledon junior champion in 2008 with a style likened to that of Roger Federer, but the 32-year-old has yet to live up to his early promise.
However, he has been in fine form in recent weeks, defeating top-10 players Carlos Alcaraz and Hubert Hurkacz at the Miami Open, before claiming a 6-4 6-7(4) 6-4 win over fifth-ranked Zverev in the semi-final.
"I think the consistency of beating top players, that to me is a bigger success than anything else," Dimitrov told reporters after his win.
"If you do that, you get the ranking. If you do that, things are just getting better for you... I think the discipline brought me to this moment. There is nothing else. I didn't kind of deviate from my target.
"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. When you start putting all that together, I think it's what I'm most proud of."
Dimitrov, who faces world number three Jannik Sinner in Sunday's final, said he is hoping to employ his diverse array of skills to the best of his ability.
"I know I have a lot of tools in my bag that I can use, but also I need to make sure that I use them at the right time," Dimitrov said.
"I think today, for example, I was able to, especially in the third set, I was able to use those ones, you know, the finesse, use the slice a little bit more, be a little bit more aggressive with my forehand, serve and volley, coming in."
(This story has been refiled to fix the year in the picture captions)
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
