"After that, nothing can scare you" - Grigor Dimitrov on playing in the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic-Murray era

Grigor Dimitrov scored his sixth straight victory of the 2024 season, following up on his title run at the Brisbane International with a first-round win over Marton Fucsovics at the Australian Open.

Speaking at his press conference after the 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-2 comeback win, the Bulgarian compared playing in this era to the previous one, where he had to face challenges from the likes of legends like Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray, and Tomas Berdych.

Dimitrov opined that the kind of tennis produced by the top 10, even the top 20, back then could only be described as "scandalous" and that he had to be three times fitter than then just to keep up against such stalwarts.

"Back then I had to play against, for me, one of the best guys I have ever played on tour. I mean, the first top-10 guys, and from 10 to 20 were -- I mean, it was scandalous tennis. You had to play amazing tennis at times to beat them, and to be able to sustain that you had to be three times fitter," Grigor Dimitrov said.

"So I had the game but I didn't have the body. Then at some point I had the, you know, I had the body and the legs but my game was a little bit off. It was just always that constant adjustment for me," he added.

The 32-year-old admitted that he could have won more titles had he not had the misfortune of sharing the same era with them, but made it clear that he would never give up that experience for anything.

After playing against them, Grigor Dimitrov went on to joke that nothing scares him anymore, regardless of how good some of the current generation prove to be.

"Again, I'm not complaining I played in that era. I loved it. I would never give it up for anything. If someone says, Oh, you get more titles, whatever, no, no, no. I'm very, very happy, because the experience that I gathered throughout the years and playing against these guys, my God, honestly, after that, nothing can scare you," Grigor Dimitrov said.

Grigor Dimitrov: "I often compare life and tennis for some reason"

2024 Australian Open - Day 3

Grigor Dimitrov recalled his early days in tennis during the press conference, reminiscing on how he had to face Tomas Berdych, Rafael Nadal, and Gilles Simon in his first two weeks - all top 10 players at the time.

The Bulgarian joked that it was a "reality check" for him, showing him what he had to do to just survive in that era.

"It happened very fast for me. My first professional match was against Berdych, and my second professional match was against Rafa. Like, if you think about it, Berdych I think was 8 in the world, and I beat him in three sets. I lost three sets to Rafa the following day, and he just came off from winning Australian Open," Girgor Dimitrov said.

"I mean, so that was a reality check at its best. Honestly, if I would have beaten him that day, I think it would have done me a big disservice, because the following week I had to play Gilles Simon. I was 5-3 up in the third and 30-15. I lost that match, because I think top 10 again in the world," he added.

The 32-year-old admitted that he had to grow up fast as a result of those experiences, both in terms of his tennis abilities as well as in life. Dimitrov, to his credit, was only grateful that he got the opportunity to do that, proclaiming that he has grown immensely over the years thanks to his opponents.

"If you think about it, I had so many of those moments, aha moments, that are right there, and the reality struck very quick for me, for which I think I'm more grateful, because I've grown, like, immensely, not only as a player, not only the experience that I have built throughout the years, but I think life itself -- I often compare life and tennis for some reason," he stated.

"Maybe it's just me. I don't know. But, like, I often compare that, and I had to grow fast," Grigor Dimitrov went on to add.