Skip to content
Indoor season Latest · The high backhand: the ball that made me switch
Grigor Dimitrov ATP · BUL

Photo: Carine06 · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

active ATP

Grigor Dimitrov

The 'Baby Fed' tag followed Dimitrov for years, and it wasn't entirely fair, though you can see where it came from. He was world No. 1 as a junior, won the Wimbledon and US Open boys' titles, and had a one-hander that looked lifted from a Federer highlight reel. He built his own career anyway, winning Cincinnati and the ATP Finals in 2017, reaching a career high of 3 and making the semi-finals at three different Slams. His nine titles came on every surface, and when the backhand is flowing it's one of the prettiest shots in the sport.

Nationality
Bulgarian
Playing hand
Right
Playing era
2007–present
Peak rank
#3
Titles
9
Playing style
All-court

Stats verified September 2026 — active players have an inconvenient habit of winning more titles when I'm not looking.

The one-handed backhand

A textbook, full-swing one-hander with a knifing slice to match, close enough to Federer's that it earned him the Baby Fed tag as a teenager