"I hope things are handled the best way possible" - Grigor Dimitrov on Novak Djokovic's visa fiasco
Grigor Dimitrov clinched his first victory of 2022, winning 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-3 against Argentina's Facundo Bagnis at the 2022 Melbourne Summer Set on Thursday. He will take on No. 57-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp in the quarterfinals on Friday.
In his post-match press conference, the Bulgarian was asked to give his thoughts on the recent developments regarding Novak Djokovic's entry into Australia.
The World No. 1, who was previously granted a medical exemption by Tennis Australia, found himself entangled in a sensational case of visa mix-up that had him detained at Melbourne's Airport. His visa currently stands revoked by the Border Forces.
Dimitrov said that although he was unaware of the details of the situation, he hoped the matter would be handled in the "best way possible."
"I've played for five and a half hours plus the doubles today, so I've been on the court the whole time," Dimitrov said. "I don't know what's the latest. I hope things are handled the best way possible I think on both parties. Everybody is a professional out there. They know what to do. I guess we'll wait and see."
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The 30-year-old went on to talk about his off-season preparations heading into 2022 and revealed that maintaining a positive attitude and a healthy body would be his main goals going forward.
"I'm trying to stay positive and keep my body on the right track. I think that's the main goal. I had to change the way I'm practicing a little. I cannot practice every day because I have to save up the body and all the beating, I clearly had to alter a lot of different things. But at the same time I've done a lot of fun stuff in the off-season, which was combined with fitness," he added.
Grigor Dimitrov has "no expectations" from the 2022 Australian summer of tennis
Grigor Dimitrov, who has thrice made the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, was asked to shed light on his expectations from the 2022 Australian summer of tennis. He revealed that he isn't putting high expectations on himself and just wants to focus on improving his game - both physically and mentally.
"No expectations really," the World No. 28 said. "I always lower my expectations early on in the year in the sense that it's good to see where you're at physically and mentally. I always come into these kind of tournaments with no expectations. But I expect to do a hundred percent of myself. That's what I expect. I think the rest I can't control. I'm really going to focus on my side of the net, and on what I can control."