Dimitrov after emotional Paris final: “These are tears of joy”
Grigor Dimitrov was quite distraught after losing the final at the Masters tournament in Paris.
by Florian Goosmann
last edit: Nov 07, 2023, 10:08 am
There were beautiful scenes after the final in Paris: Novak Djokovic, once again in a class of his own, not only celebrated - but also saw his opponent in the final and his friend Dimitrov, his head buried in his towel.
The Djoker showed himself to be a fair sportsman, quickly went to his opponent and consoled him - a nice move.
But why the tears - after all, Dimitrov had been enthusiastic all week and had defeated, among others, Daniil Medvedev? It is difficult to explain emotions, said the Bulgarian in the press conference. “You just want it,” he summed up his longing for tournament victory. "And it's hard when it doesn't work."
Dimitrov said he knew what he had been through on and off the court in the past few months. But, he clarified: "These are tears of joy, I don't want them to be portrayed as something negative," he said."
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"It's never fun to lose a final"
The entire preparation for the past tournaments, the trip to China, everything added up, said Dimitrov - "Day after day, match after match," he explained. "And then I was so close to winning something that I've wanted for so long," he said, referring to a victory in a 1000 series tournament.
"I'm not ashamed of it," he said of his tears. "I'm sad that I lost. It's never fun to lose a final. But now I have some time to reflect on it and then move on."
And Dimitrov can really be at peace with himself about his tennis recently. He had already reached the semi-finals in Shanghai, including after defeating Carlos Alcaraz. And now the final in Paris, in addition to the victory over Medvedev also after successes against Hubert Hurkacz and Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Will things continue to be similarly successful in 2024? His fans would like that.