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At the 2013 US Open I asked Pancho Segura for his thoughts on then 22-year-old Grigor Dimitrov: â€œI love the Bulgarian kid. I like his game very much. He hasnâ€™t won any big matches. You have to win a big match.â€

Since then the career of Super G has been short of Super. From a career high rank of no. 8 in August of 2014 Dimitrov has fallen out of the top 20 range and is currently stuck at 26. He beat world no. 1 Djokovic in 2013 and has won four ATP titles and reached the semis of Wimbledon two years ago but far far more was expected.

The question persists: What can Dimitrov do to galvanize all his talents and maximize his extraordinary skillset? What can be implemented and incorporated into the Dimitrov arsenal that previous coaches Peter McNamara, Peter Lundgren, Roger Rasheed, and Patrick Mouratoglou have not been able to install and fine tune? Or has Dimitrov reached his pinnacle and is he incapable of significantly better? Have too many failures and losses eroded his confidence and self belief that he actually can win a major in this most challenging era of pro tennis? Is he just not physically strong enough to assert his physical and psychological superiority over every other tennis player on the planet?

Bettina Bunge a former top ten WTA player from Germany said about Dimitrov: â€œ(He is) probably too nice. Doesn’t have the killer instinct. You need to be tough.â€

I would say based on watching his loss last night to Dominic Thiem in Acapulco he needs more variety and trickery in his game. He looks sensational athletically but he just hits the ball nicely but predictably around the court relying on athleticism and shotmaking. He’s your typical fast ball pitcher with no curveball, slider, change-up, or screwball. When he started losing to Thiem he didn’t appear to try anything different to change it up. The fighting spirit is there but the Super G arsenal needs more plans and dimensions.

Chang and McEnroe used to have several different gameplans. With Dimitrov you get the sense there is only one plan – Plan A.

It’s a difficult question about how to fix this super power talent Dimitrov. What are your ideas or suggestions to help – as Segura said – help Grigor win the “Big Match”?

Super G's career sinking not soaring

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