Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov has decided to skip out on his home tournament at the ATP Sofia Open. Due to his decision he has received backlash and criticism for his fans in Bulgaria. The ATP 250 event held in Sofia, Bulgaria has started for the first time after 35 years. Fans have expected him to partake in the tournament and grace the courts where his fans have awaited for him. The announcement that he is skipping out has led to a lot of disappointment for the tournament and his country.
Dimitrov also refused an important amount of money from tournament organizers to participate and has not cited why he made this decision. There is a good chance Dimitrov is trying to avoid the event because he does not want to play in indoor tournaments. Nonetheless, fans are expecting an explanation from their star player on missing out on this special occasion for tennis in Bulgaria. No signs of a statement coming forward have been signaled as of now.
Dimitrov's Schedule
The Bulgarian number one is training in Stockholm in the Good to Great Academy. After a disappointing 2015 season with many expectations, he is hoping to refocus and get back to his style of play. An odd tournament schedule has been decided, not only is he skipping out from his home tournament but he will not participate in ATP 500 Rotterdam tournament held next week. Instead, he has decided to return to compete at Delray Beach.
So far this season, Dimitrov has made it to the quarterfinals of Brisbane where he lost in three sets to Roger Federer. He then again fell to the tennis legend, this time in four sets in the third round of the Australian Open.
Bulgarian Wildcards Compete In Sofia
Although their main Bulgarian player is missing in action, two other player will be representing the home nation at the Sofia Open. The tournament has awarded two automatic main draw wildcards to their home grown talent. 22 year old Bulgarian Dimitar Kuzmanov has yet to play his 1st round match. The world number 287 wildcard faces off against world number 96 Ricardas Berankis for a spot in the second round. The second wildcard is Bulgarian Alexander Lazov. The number 438 has already played his 1st round match in a 3-6 0-6 loss to seventh seed Martin Klizan. Both players paired up to lose a tight doubles match that ended (10-12) in a match breaker.
Although two Bulgarian players made an appearance at the tournament, fans will be hoping that Dimitrov shows up next year to compete in front of them.