Born in the little known town of Hoskovo, Bulgaria in 1991, Grigor Dimitrov could get his nation on the tennis map in 2011 if his natural progression continues. In order to fulfill his dream, Dimitrov has moved to the illustrious Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris where the likes of Baghdatis, Ancic, Simon and Karlovic took their first steps.
Anyone who's seen this stylish Bulgarian play immediately reaches the same conclusion: we are looking at a young Roger Federer. As a writer, I personally disagree fiercely with dubbing sportsmen as the new whoever but Dimitrov's similarities with Federer are uncanny.
It comes as no surprise then that Grigor's idol is the Swiss maestro. As a junior, Dimitrov reached a ranking of World number 3, taking the Wimbledon and US Open junior titles in 2008 and making it to the final of the prestigious Orange Bowl in 2007.
His impressive game guaranteed him Wild Card entries to various tournaments in 2008 but he was unable to make an impression and making the transition from junior to pro was being much tougher than expected.
It's not easy to grind it out in the lower categories of tennis and more so if you're hearing how good you are on a daily basis but Dimitrov has had no choice but do it the hard way, showing both maturity and humbleness.
Dimitrov started the year at 288 in the world, not even ensuring him a direct acceptance into Challenger event which meant he had to earn a spot via qualifying or even enter a few Future events.
After a run of three Future titles (Germany F9, F10 and Spain F29) he entered the Geneva Challenger in August oozing confidence. A tough three sets victory in the final over Andujar ensured the Bulgarian 80 points and a rise of 55 places in the rankings which meant he could now concentrate on the Challenger tour.
With his mind at ease, Dimitrov could play his real tennis fear free and two more Challenger titles followed at the end of the season (Bangkok, Bangkok 2). With the official season over, Dimitrov finds himself knocking on the door of the Top 100 at 106 thus cementing a direct entry at the 2011 Australian Open.
The sky is the limit for Dimitrov, who will try and show why he is seen as a mirror image of Roger Federer. I for one am confident that by this time next year Grigor Dimitrov will be a household name.
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