The practice courts in Florida are proving to be a hot-bed of rumours surrounding Grigor Dimitrov and potential coaches. Last week, it was Ivan Lendl hitting with the young Bulgarian, sparking rumours about the potential of the man who turned Andy Murray into a champion taking over coaching Dimitrov. This week, it’s the Argentinian king maker Franco Davin hitting with Dimitrov. While perhaps not on the same level as the Lendl rumours, Davin’s presence with Dimitrov in Florida adds yet another twist to the plot surrounding the next steps in Dimitrov’s career.
Lendl would be a near-perfect fit for Dimitrov. But the fact that Dimitrov has met with Davin since then could indicate that Dimitrov or Lendl doesn’t feel the same way. However, just because Lendl would be the ideal choice for Dimitrov does not mean that Davin would not work. In fact, Davin could work out fairly well for Dimitrov. Perhaps even better.
The catch with Ivan Lendl is that he’s not very experienced. His two years with Andy Murray were fruitful, but those were the only two years of coaching at the professional level he has under his belt. He’s also only ever coached Murray so it’s tough to say how he would fare with a different player. Franco Davin has been coaching professionals on the ATP World Tour for fifteen years and has seen two different players through to Grand Slam finals, one to a Grand Slam title. He also spent time as Argentina’s Davis Cup captain, seeing them through to the semi-finals in 2012. His two main charges, Guillermo Coria and Juan Martin Del Potro, were incredibly different players. They played very different styles with very different temperaments. And yet Davin managed to turn them both into top-ten players and grand slam contenders, proving that he can have success with different types of players, something Lendl has yet to prove. While Lendl could be better for Dimitrov, Davin would be a safer bet at the beginning.
Davin's Resume
Franco Davin is probably one of the lesser known coaches on the ATP World Tour. His first great success as a coach came with Guillermo Coria. Coria, whose career started on an auspicious note with a drug suspension, was considering the “king of clay” in 2003-2004 on the ATP World Tour. Coria was a classic clay-court specialist. He was extremely quick with solid, consistent ground strokes. Under Davin’s guidance, he would win nine titles, including two Masters 1000 titles. He was ranked in the top ten from 2003 until 2006, climbing as high as number three in the world.
The high point in his career came in 2004, when he reached the final of the French Open. He went in as the heavy favourite and claimed the first two sets and was five points away at 4-4, 40-0 in the third, only to implode. He led by a break multiple times in the fifth set and held multiple championship points, but eventually lost 8-6 in the fifth to compatriot Gaston Gaudio. In 2005, Coria reached the round of sixteen or better at all four majors. He and Davin separated at the end of 2006, at which point Coria’s best days were behind him. But Davin’s were still to come.
At the beginning of 2007, Franco Davin began coaching a little-known Argentinian teenager by the name of Juan Martin Del Potro. In 2008, Del Potro went on a record tear during the summer, reaching the first four finals of his career, all in consecutive tournaments. He won them all, becoming the first player in ATP history to win their first four titles in four consecutive tournaments. Del Potro gave full credit for his success to Davin, claiming that Davin had changed everything and was responsible for his sudden success. He finished the year by qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals as a 19-year-old. His first major semifinal came at the French Open in 2009, when he lost a five-set nail biter to eventual-champion Roger Federer. After reaching the final of the Masters 1000 event in Montreal, Del Potro made the biggest splash of his career at the US Open.
As the sixth seed, he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and Roger Federer in five sets in the final to claim the title. Del Potro became the only non-big four member to win a slam between the 2005 French Open and 2013 US Open. He reached a career-high number four in January 2010. Since then, his career has been marred by injuries, but Del Potro continuously bounces back and when he’s healthy, he’s a consistent top-ten player and threat for big titles. The closest he’s come since was the 2013 Wimbledon Championships, when he lost a four hour and forty-three minute semi-final to Novak Djokovic. He also claimed the bronze medal at the summer Olympics in London back in 2012. All under Davin’s leadership, whom Del Potro consistently credited as the reason for his success.
How Can Davin Help Dimitrov?
Davin would be a good fit for Grigor Dimitrov for two main reasons. The first is that he builds top players. Twice now he’s taken a young player and turned them into a champion, or almost-champion in the case of Coria. Dimitrov is older and more proven than either Coria or Del Potro were when they started with Davin, but Dimitrov is still young and there is still time for Davin to have some influence. Besides, his impact on each of his charges was relatively quick. It took both of them around eighteen months to start experiencing success under Davin. His effect could be more immediate on Dimitrov because Dimitrov is already a more solid player than either Coria or Dimitrov were when they joined forces with Davin.
Davin doesn’t have to build Dimitrov the way that he built the other two. He simply needs to mould Dimitrov and point him in the right direction. And Davin has proven that he can do that. Both of the men he’s coached reached slam finals. Del Potro won and Coria should have. If Del Potro had not suffered multiple serious injuries, it’s possible, if not probable, that he would have won multiple slams and maybe been ranked number one. The injuries cannot be blamed on Davin. He built what could have been a great champion.
With Coria and Del Potro, Davin also proved that he can work with different styles. Coria and Del Potro could not have played different games. Coria was speedy, crafty and loved slow courts, while Del Potro was the definitive power player who was at his peak on fast courts. Their attitudes were also very different. Coria was known to have some serious trouble with nerves, while Del Potro never seemed to cave under pressure. That wasn’t a problem for Davin. A lot of coaches work better with certain types of players. Not Davin. He’s proved that he can work with anyone. This bodes well for Dimitrov, especially when he’s already fairly developed as a player. It’s also good that Davin has experience with both ends of the style spectrum, because Dimitrov falls in the middle.
The second reason why Davin would be a good fit for Dimitrov is because what Dimitrov currently more than someone who can fix his game is someone who can fix his brain. While he didn’t manage that with Coria, he did with Del Potro. In fact, Del Potro claimed that Davin was extremely key in keeping him calm. Del Potro said that seeing Davin in his box allowed him to relax. That’s exactly what Dimitrov needs. Dimitrov’s game is practically ready to dominate. He’s got all the requisite shots and athleticism. He just needs to calm down and focus. Davin had that effect on Del Potro. If he can do the same thing for Dimitrov, the Bulgarian could be in great shape.
Whether or not Davin and Dimitrov practicing together amounts to anything will probably become clear by the upcoming Rogers Cup in Montreal. It’s unlikely that Dimitrov will go too long without a coach. As a young player, that could be disastrous. Davin checks a lot of the boxes when it comes to what Dimitrov needs to take the next step towards true stardom. He’s currently sitting outside the top ten searching for the consistency required to reach the top ten and stay there. If he can calm down and focus, he should be in good shape. Davin could definitely be the man to help Dimitrov make that happen.