Grigor Dimitrov is searching for another strong performance in Monte-Carlo, having reached two previous semi-finals.
The Bulgarian star has won just one clay court ATP title since turning professional 18 years ago and would no doubt love to add to his tally in the principality.
Dimitrov began his campaign with a big win over 2024 Italian Open finalist Nicolas Jarry, 6-3, 6-4.
Photo by VALERY HACHE/AFP via Getty Images
Advancing to the third round of the Monte-Carlo Masters, the 33-year-old will take on home favorite Valentin Vacherot.
Following his opening win, Dimitrov reflected on what has been a difficult start to his 2025 season.
Grigor Dimitrov says his ‘stop and go’ 2025 ATP season has been ‘very weird and strange’
Speaking to Tennis Channel after his win over Jarry, Dimitrov looked back on the first few months of the year.
“The beginning of the year, very weird and strange at the same time, it was just stop and go, I wasn’t able to compete well in any of the tournaments,” he said.
“My movement was also a little bit off, so there’s so many things that were going against it but you have to stay strong, in our sport the most important thing is to be resilient, that’s it.
“Just do your work every single day.”
Dimitrov reached the semi-finals of the Miami Open in his last ATP outing, enjoying his best tournament of the season so far.
- 2025 Miami Open SF – Grigor Dimitrov lost to Novak Djokovic, 2-6, 3-6
- 2025 Miami Open QF – Grigor Dimitrov beat Francisco Cerundolo, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6
- 2025 Miami Open 4R – Grigor Dimitrov beat Brandon Nakashima, 6-4, 7-5
- 2025 Miami Open 3R – Grigor Dimitrov beat Karen Khachanov, 6-7, 6-4, 7-5
- 2025 Miami Open 2R – Grigor Dimitrov beat Federico Cina, 6-1, 6-4
Photo by Frey/TPN/Getty Images
His health was a concern, however, as Dimitrov was helped off the court after his marathon win over Francisco Cerundolo in the quarterfinals.
The Bulgarian now admits how long it took him to recover from the match, and whether that affected his preparations for Monte-Carlo.
“Not pretty quick but I was able to recover quick enough for me to get back at it,” said Dimitrov.
“As soon as you get back home you have to have a little bit of a talk with the team in terms of what we wanted to do in the upcoming weeks and whether we want to play here or not, because it’s a difficult week.
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“I’m not 22, 23 years-old where I can build up quicker, but at the same time, where I was physically coming from Miami I didn’t feel bad at all so I was able to add some hours and play and compete.
“Little by little, let’s see how everything else unfolds, but I just felt I’m in a good place playing out there.”
Grigor Dimitrov’s record at clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments
Dimitrov last won a clay court title 11 years ago in Bucharest, Romania, and is yet to reach a final on the surface at the Masters 1000 level.
Monte-Carlo is by far his best performing clay Masters event, however, having won 69% of his matches in the principality.
Grigor Dimitrov’s clay court Masters 1000 performances
Dimitrov came closest to a Masters 1000 final on clay three years ago in Monte-Carlo, losing out in three sets to Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Hoping for another deep run this time around, Dimitrov gave his honest opinion on clay courts.
“I’ve always felt good on the clay it’s just been a very up and down season overall,” he said.
“There has been some very good results and very difficult results.
“For me this year, first I want to stay healthy, I think that’s the most important thing for me.
“Second, step up to the challenge, especially on the clay. I like this surface. I’ve had some good results; even as a junior, I grew up on clay.
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“So why not keep building on that?”
Dimitrov will certainly look to keep his Monte-Carlo run going when he takes on Vacherot in the third round on Thursday, April 10.