Grigor Dimitrov Discusses the Impact of Coach David Nalbandian After Wimbledon Resurgence

Grigor Dimitrov has lauded his coach, David Nalbandian for helping him get back to his best shape on the court after beating Jakub Mensik in the second round of Wimbledon. Nalbandian, who joined Dimitrov’s team in February, was appointed to help get him back in shape following his months on the sidelines.

Dimitrov had suffered a pectoral injury during his match against Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon last year. He was two sets up before he slipped on the Center Court grass and sustained an injury, which forced him away from competitive events for more than four months. He made his return to the court at the Paris Masters last November.

However, he failed to produce a consistent performance, exiting the first round of the Australian Open and Mexico Open before hiring Nalbandian as his coach ahead of the Sunshine Double. There was not much improvement in Dimitrov’s game until the grass-court season, as he lost four consecutive opening-round matches from March to May.

It was at the Mallorca Open last week that he won two matches and reached the quarter-finals before losing to eventual champion Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Dimitrov has continued with the good form at Wimbledon, beating Dane Sweeny in the first round before overcoming Czech Republic star Jakub Mensik 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 on Thursday (July 2).

Dimitrov, who is 35, had considered retiring from the sport earlier this year, but things began to change after Nalbandian joined his team. The former World No.3 admitted after beating Mensik, that Nalbandian awakened something special in him, and he loved the way the Argentine coach communicated his ideas to him:

I always admired the way he competed; he has managed to awaken things within me that were a bit dormant. He has a very direct but also very humble way of conveying ideas. My game is already quite developed, there are no big secrets. What we are looking for is to be able to execute different things at specific moments and surprise opponents again. If I want to return to the top, I can’t just limit myself to trading shots from the baseline.

Nalbandian is a former ATP player who won 11 tour-level titles and reached a career high-ranking of World No.3 in 2006. His career spanned 13 years on tour. His most memorable title victory came at the 2007 Madrid Open, where he defeated Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic to claim the championship.

Grigor Dimitrov admits Wimbledon has been a healing experience for him

Grigor Dimitrov was impressive against 15th seed Jakub Mensik in their second-round match at Wimbledon. The Bulgarian star was not the favorite to win the match, as Mensik had reached the semi-finals of the French Open and had been one of the rising stars in the men’s circuit, just 20 years of age, 15 years younger than Dimitrov.

But the former World No.3 showed experience on the court against the Czech Republic star, winning the match. The victory is his fourth win on grass this season, more than on any other surface in 2026. He admitted during the aforementioned press conference that this week’s Wimbledon has been a healing process for him:

This week has been healing for me. It has been, without a doubt, the best week of the last twelve months. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to compete here again. Only I know everything I have been through in recent months; now I am in the third round of Wimbledon, my body is responding, and that is all that matters.

Dimitrov will face Matteo Berrettini in the third round on Saturday (July 4) at the All England Club. The match is expected to be a tough one, as Berrettini went past Arthur Fils in four sets in the second round and has been in good form since May, reaching the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in Paris.

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