Grigor Dimitrov is looking snappy in more ways than one at Roland Garros.
With a switch from long-time sponsor Nike to Lacoste, the Bulgarian is now proudly sporting the familiar crocodile logo on his tennis apparel.
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“The croc that rocks … The croc the rocks from Bulgaria,” the 32-year-old emphasised with a smile. “I feel very comfortable in the outfit. I think it suits my personality, suits my style.”
It’s hard to argue as Dimitrov’s exquisite backhand and breathtaking court craft return to their finest in a 13th main-draw campaign at the clay-court major.
After warming-up for Roland Garros by reaching his first ATP final in five years at the Geneva Open – where his vanquished opponents included the top-10 ranked Taylor Fritz – Dimitrov has rediscovered some impressive form in the French capital.
Through three matches, the No.28 seed is yet to drop a set in Paris; Dimitrov allowed Kazakhstani qualifier Timofey Skatov only five games in the opening round, with his biggest test occurring with a tiebreak first set in his second-round win over Finland’s Emil Ruusuvuori.
Following a straightforward win over Daniel Altmaier in the third round, Dimitrov next faces another German, Alexander Zverev, for the chance to secure a maiden quarterfinal appearance at Roland Garros.
Having progressed to the semifinals of every other Grand Slam – mostly recently, at Australian Open 2021, where he exited to Aslan Karatsev – Dimitrov is aiming to become only the 10th active ATP player to advance to the quarterfinals or better of every major tournament.
At age 32, Dimitrov would join an elite group; Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Stan Wawrinka, Marin Cilic, Matteo Berrettini, Kei Nishikori, Karen Khachanov and Jannik Sinner are current players to have achieved that milestone.
The second-week showing rewards remarkable perseverance for Dimitrov, a former world No.1 junior who peaked at world No.3 on the ATP Tour after winning the biggest of his eight singles titles at the season-ending ATP Finals in 2017.
More recent highs have been relatively lean, however, with Dimitrov recording only four Grand Slam match wins – and almost falling outside the world’s top 40 – in 2022.
The experienced competitor faces a similarly inspired opponent in Zverev, a two-time semifinalist at Roland Garros, who leads the pair’s head-to-head record 3-1.
The 26th-ranked German suffered a season-ending right ankle injury after a devastating fall in the second set of last year’s semifinal against Rafael Nadal. After leaving the court on crutches, Zverev underwent surgery and was unable to walk in the first two months of his recovery.
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While Zverev admitted there was high emotion as he returned to the scene of that devastating accident at Court Philippe Chatrier, there has been encouraging progress in his eighth main-draw campaign in Paris.
Following straight-sets victories over Lloyd Harris and Alex Molcan, from South Africa and Slovakia respectively, he survived a four-set test against the higher-ranked Frances Tiafoe in the third round.
WHAT A PASS ?@AlexZverev | #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/TsZFDTBv66
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 3, 2023
It places the 26-year-old in a perfect state of mind as he targets a fifth quarterfinal from his last six Roland Garros appearances.
“I love tennis more than anything in the world, I don’t play for the money or the fame, I play for the pure sport,” Zverev related in his on-court interview after his late-night victory over Tiafoe.
“I play for the competitiveness, and I love being in front of (the crowd). Being away from that, having that taken away from me... I’m so happy to be playing these big battles again.
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“Hopefully it’s going to be a fun second week for me because I’m here to stay.”
Except perhaps if Dimitrov, similarly rejuvenated in his return to top form, has other ideas. Either way, it will provide a fascinating contest.