Grigor Dimitrov said he is excited to have the opportunity to play for Team Europe in the Laver Cup. The Bulgarian was called up by captain Bjorn Borg to replace Rafael Nadal and will do his best to make the most of this opportunity.
"It's great to be here. Every time I'm part of a team, I get even more fired up. As I told the guys yesterday, it's a privilege to be here at this stage of my career. To be able to contribute to the success of the team is the ultimate goal. I feel like I can still learn a lot and I hope to do so this weekend as well. I'm pumped and can't wait to play," he said in the media day of the tournament.
But not only that. Grigor played an exhibition match in his native Bulgaria together with Novak Djokovic. The two put on a show both on and off the court, improvising a fun striptease and going wild in the disco. In the press conference, they were asked to talk about those fun moments.
"I was hoping I wouldn't have to talk about it! No, Novak and I had a lot of fun. Honestly, he was the right person to organize this event. Our time is also about having fun, it has to be worth it. Now I'm on a team with these guys and I guess I have to keep every promise. So I better be careful," he added.
Dimitrov was the last piece missing from Team Europe in the Laver Cup, after Nadal's withdrawal. The Bulgarian tennis player replaced the Spanish champion, who preferred to give up the competition to better recover his physical shape.
The former ATP No.3 recently got injured at the US Open, after having pushed himself to the quarterfinals. This physical problem forced him to withdraw in the match against Frances Tiafoe. Problems that fortunately seem to be resolved and that will not prevent him from taking part in one of the most anticipated events of the year, based in Berlin.
"You look at your side and you only see legends of this sport. That atmosphere, the fist bumps with Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer sitting with me on the bench after the first set or hearing Novak Djokovic in the background shouting something in Serbian. It was an incredible experience. All the guys supported me in a spectacular and incredible way, the support was crazy," he recalled about his last appearance in this tournament, a few years ago.
Grigor, in an interview with the official website of the tournament, spoke about his passion for tennis, which however is not everything in his life.
"I love tennis, but even if I become the best of all time, I don't want to be defined only by tennis. I am my own person and I want to be remembered for who I really am. I am much more than tennis. In my free time I like to create things off the court. If I told you everything I do, you would say: Do you really play tennis?" explained the Bulgarian.
