Other than winning Maria Sharapova's heart, Grigor Dimitrov has not won much of anything lately.
Once dubbed "Baby Fed" for the similarities in his game with that of legendary Roger Federer, Dimitrov burst onto the scene at the end of 2012 and in 2013, moving into the top 25 world rankings.
Grigor Dimitrov denies jealousy over Maria Sharapova cuddling up to an old friend
He then won three events in 2014, including the Wimbledon tuneup at Queen's Club, reached the Wimbledon semifinals and had reached a high of No. 8 in the rankings.
Since then, it's been difficult sledding for the 23-year-old Bulgarian.
He has just an 8-5 record in 2015 after losing in the third round of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells to Tommy Robredo. Tennis.com reported that Dimitrov tweaked his game and his strategy entering 2015 and has uneven results because of it.
After losing to Federer in the semifinals of the Brisbane International to start the year, Dimitrov lost in the fourth round of the Australian Open to Andy Murray and then suffered second-round defeats at both the Rotterdam Open and the Acapulco Open before packing up his bags early again after his latest loss at Indian Wells.
His 6-0 loss in the third set to Ryan Harrison in Acapulco left him hurling his racket, tennis.com reported.
"A little bit different since I have been working on a lot of things. I think it just takes a bit of time to really find that rhythm," Dimitrov told tennis.com. "[My] game still needs to improve a little bit more, needs a bit of a sort of polish up....Usually it's very tough when you break a habit to come out there and play under the circumstances, under the pressure and all those kind of things. It's never easy to change it right away."
Especially for a player whose popularity is tied as much to his girlfriend as it is his play. Sharapova currently is No. 2 in the world and considered the best women's tennis player not named Serena Williams.
It could explain his frustration over the slow progress of his attempts to improve.
"Every time I don't perform well there is always frustration in a way," said Dimitrov. "I think I was a little bit overwhelmed with my frustration. There were a few unsettled parts outside of that. ... I had a little bit of a rough patch. I'm not going to lie for that."
Those comments came before Dimitrov lost to Robredo.
Do you think Grigor Dimitrov will become more recognized for his own game than for his relationship with Maria Sharapova? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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