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Dimitrov captures maiden title in Stockholm


 

Originally published on: 21/10/13 00:00

Dimitrov, who started working with the Australian earlier this month, came from a set down to defeat top seed David Ferrer  2-6 6-3 6-4.

The 22-year-old, who is the first Bulgarian to win an ATP title, fired 43 winners as he claimed one of the biggest victories of his career.

"It's one of my biggest wins," Dimitrov said. "To beat a top guy in a final. It's a great feeling and it's good for your mental state. You know you can hang with these guys and the next time you play against them, especially in the Grand Slams, you will be better prepared.”

He added: "Even if I would have lost the match, the most important thing was to test myself to the limits and try to control what I can. This was icing on the cake.

"I'm going to come on court and fight as much as I can. [Success] is never a guarantee. The best thing in tennis is that you have a next week. My goal is to strive to do better and work harder and eventually everything else is going to pay you back."

Dimitrov, whose only previous final came at the beginning of the season, when he lost out on the Brisbane International title with defeat to Andy Murray, moves to a career high No.22.

His new set-up with Rasheed, who has previously coached Lleyton Hewitt, Gael Monfils and most recently Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, is on a short-term basis, but could well become a permanent agreement following instant success for Dimitrov.

"We met before and wanted to see how it would work on a regular basis," Dimitrov said. "This was a good stage to do so. We have two more tournaments to play and only time will tell for the rest."

Dimitrov is in action at the Swiss Indoors Basel this week, where Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, Stanislas Wawrinka and Richard Gasquet are hoping to secure their places at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.