Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov, who was initially dubbed “Baby Federer” due to his similar playing style and admiration for Swiss legend Roger Federer, has recently admitted that he does not appreciate the nickname and wishes people would stop using it. In an interview with The Athletic, Dimitrov expressed his feelings about the moniker.
“At first, I thought the nickname was quite interesting,” Dimitrov said. “But over time, I began to dislike it more and more. Roger and I are two completely different players, two different people, even though we share some similarities in our tennis style. I’m sure no player wants to be constantly compared to someone else. I believe that nickname is one of the worst things I’ve had to endure throughout my career.”
Novak Djokovic has returned to training just 18 days after undergoing knee meniscus surgery. However, it remains uncertain whether he will participate in Wimbledon.
Former tennis player Greg Rusedski expressed his surprise at the possibility of Djokovic competing at Wimbledon: “I would be astonished if Djokovic plays at Wimbledon. It’s great that he’s back to training, but I think it would be better to see him compete when he’s fully recovered.”
Former tennis player John McEnroe believes that Novak Djokovic does not deserve to be seen as a villain compared to Federer and Nadal: “Nadal and Federer are legends. They deserve all the admiration they get. But Djokovic is no less deserving; he even has some advantages over Federer and Nadal.”
“Federer and Nadal are loved and highly respected. Meanwhile, Djokovic is often seen as the bad guy. It’s clearly unfair,” McEnroe added.
Emma Raducanu defeated Sloane Stephens 6-4, 6-0 to advance to the second round of the WTA 250 Eastbourne International, a warm-up tournament for Wimbledon. Notably, Raducanu won the first set despite being broken twice by Stephens. Her next opponent is the world No. 5, Jessica Pegula.
Brazilian football legend Ronaldo has expressed his love for tennis during a gala at the Mouratoglou Academy. The former Real Madrid striker said, “I love everything about tennis. Now I think about tennis more than football. It’s unbelievable. I can’t watch entire football matches; I find them too boring. But five hours of tennis? I can do that. It’s too exciting.”
The fight between Michael Chandler and Conor McGregor at UFC 303 this weekend has been canceled due to McGregor’s withdrawal because of an injury. On social media, Chandler confirmed that their fight is being rescheduled. UFC President Dana White has not ruled out the possibility of Chandler fighting another opponent while waiting if the American fighter wishes.
Lando Norris jokingly blamed his poor start at the Spanish GP on an empty candy tube left on the Barcelona track. The British driver started in the first position but was overtaken by Max Verstappen and George Russell at the first corner. Norris’s efforts later helped him finish in second place.
