READ: Why Grigor Dimitrov loves flowers and what Belinda Bencic hates about travelling
Grigor Dimitrov and Belinda Bencic
Belinda Bencic and Grigor Dimitrov have never played mixed doubles on the tour. In fact, both of them have been rarely sharing a tennis court, even during exhibition events.
That said, the two talented players did get together for an interesting chat session, as a part of the Tennis United: Crosscourt series. From traveling for tournaments, packing and adjusting to different climate and conditions, both tennis stars revealed some interesting information.
When Bencic asked Dimitrov to reveal one of his secrets on the tour, the Bulgarian surprised the Swiss by sharing his love for flowers. “I love to have flowers in the [hotel] room a lot. For some reason I love flowers, I don’t know why. There’s a little secret: I love flowers,” Dimitrov said. “I just love red roses, for example. It brings some sort of a romance to the room. You know how much time we spend in the room… it’s nice to feel nice and cosy.”
The Former World No.3 then asked the newly crowned Tokyo Games gold medalist to talk about what bothers her during travel for tournaments. The Swiss had little hesitation in pointing out that packing and unpacking stuff can be mentally draining.
“Traveling week-in and week-out is not always easy,” Bencic added. “For me personally I have to say it’s the hardest part of everything. I love to be at the different places. But for me, the traveling, for me that’s the hardest part especially week to week. It’s not even the long flights. It’s the packing, unpacking.”
Bencic is a Mumma’s girl
To conclude the conversation, the 30-year-old asked Bencic to talk about whom she calls for advice and support pre/post matches and tournaments. The response was very much within the expected lines.
“I have very good people around me. My mother comes sometimes to the tournaments, but if she is not around then, I keep in touch with my best friend. She also use to play tennis. We know each other from like childhood, so she really gets it. Sometimes she comes to tournament as well.”
Currently, Dimitrov is playing the tournament in San Diego, where he will Russia’s Casper Ruud in the semifinals. On the other hand, Bencic lost to Elena Rybakina in the quarterfinals of Chicago Open.
Also read: Rafael Nadal finishes 6000 days on the bounce in ATP top-10 despite persistent injury issues
Vivek Krishnan
(767 Articles Published)