With win over Goffin, Dimitrov has us wondering about his future again

Is it still worth believing that Grigor Dimitrov, at age 26, after nearly a decade on tour and close to a dozen different coaches, can make the most of his famously Federer-esque talents and take his place at the top of the sport?

The question was first asked in 2014, when the smooth-swinging Bulgarian reached the semifinals at Wimbledon and broke into the Top 10. The answer, we pretty quickly discovered, was no. By 2016, his ranking had dropped to No. 40, and he was trudging through his matches with a hollow-eyed, thousand-mile stare.

By the second month of 2017, Dimitrov had us daring to wonder again. He opened the year with a title in Brisbane, a semifinal run at the Australian Open, and another title in Sofia. But again, the answer appeared to be no. While he went on to win his first Masters 1000 title, in Cincinnati, and broke back into the Top 10, Dimitrov saved his most mediocre performances for the tournaments that mattered most, the majors. His tame defeat at the hands of Federer at Wimbledon left him just 1-10 against Top 10 opponents at the Slams. Even worse, with Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Stan Wawrinka absent for the US Open and opportunity knocking, Dimitrov lost to 19-year-old Andrey Rublev in straight sets.

Still, after witnessing Dimitrov’s comprehensive 6-0, 6-2 blowout of David Goffin on Wednesday, it seems worth bringing up his potential one more time. Put that beat down together with his three-set win over Dominic Thiem on Monday and it means Dimitrov is 2-0 at his first ATP Finals, and has advanced to the semifinals. If his next challenge is learning how to knock off elite players at elite events, these might qualify as milestones.

Dimitrov’s win over Goffin also reminded us why we cared about his future in the first place. Counting their three meetings at Challenger events, he was 6-1 against the Belgian coming into this match, and he played with the easy confidence of an overwhelming favorite from the start.

Dimitrov won with force; his inside-out forehand was finding the corners. He won with defense; Goffin, who came out flat and never rose to the occasion, looked like a man who had nowhere to go with the ball. And Dimitrov won with touch, too, carving up a drop volley to break serve in the early going. He was in such control of the rallies that he didn’t even need to serve particularly well. Dimitrov made just 36 percent of his first serves in the opening set, yet won it in 27 minutes.

Granted, we’ve been here before with Dimitrov. Granted, beating a tired-looking Goffin isn’t the same as beating one of the Big 5. And granted, even at his best, he’s not the next Federer. But it has been a year of firsts for Dimitrov, and he seems to have a solid working relationship, and long-term plan, with his current coach, Dani Vallverdu.

Whatever his future holds, anyone who loves good tennis, and who is a little worried about where it’s going to come from on the men’s side in the future, should be able to understand the desire to see Dimitrov keep playing the way he played today.