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HM : How was your coronavirus experience ?
GD : I think it was hard . But it was also a positive thing as well . In the beginning of the pandemic , I took such good care during the first three months I was in the States , so I was very isolated . I was practicing , I was working , I wanted to catch up a little bit on fitness , on tennis and I was able to do it . And then 20 days self-isolation at home — you can only imagine how much you can really think about stuff . And I really did think a lot . I appreciate , even more , the people that really care about me .
HM : Some people got depressed during these COVID times , not just lockdown , but some take it as a lesson . Did something change in your life during this time ?
GD : Whatever we do during the day , we always come home , to four walls . It may look great what we do in professional tennis and may seem that we ’ re kind of spoiled in general — with the luxury hotels and life can offer . The sacrifice , the thing that nobody understands , is the other part that needs to be done in order to get there . The big gap , at some point hits you later on in life . A lot of players or athletes in general are struggling with the transition from being in the spotlight to just basic life . And in tennis , we always have somebody , 24 hours , we can call with whatever we need . I think it ’ s important to be able to talk to someone . Obviously , some players are not able to afford some kind of psychologist or somebody to talk with , in that department and we all have very different backgrounds : culture , family and so on , so I don ’ t judge any of that . But , I think , especially at the very beginning of the pandemic , I spoke very highly about that because it was very important to have a set or group of people around you . Not just to talk to , but to refer to .
The trick is to always have the right ratio between positive and negative thoughts and to be more towards the positive , because negative thoughts may come to even the most positive person on earth .
HM : Talking about your family , how would you describe your relationship with your mum ? She ’ s your role-model , or she ’ s your friend or your coach ?
GD : I come from such a sporty family . My dad was a tennis coach , my mom is a former volleyball player , so sports was something that I just knew I would do . I could never answer when people asked me if I were not to play tennis , what else would I do ? I don ’ t know . I only wanted to be a tennis player and it just happened .
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Mom is just a very positive person . I don ’ t believe I ’ ve seen a day in her life that she felt negative or any sort of discomfort . I always ask her : « How do you do it ?» I could never understand and she ’ s just , « I don ’ t know . It ’ s just how I am , how life brought me » and how everything had developed for her throughout the years . I think I ’ ve picked more up from my mom on so many levels and aspects of life , even though she ’ s very strong and positive , she ’ s always managed a way to provoke me and challenge me to do things better . And she has such a good connection with my dad and they complement each other in so many different levels and I think that ’ s also why they bond , they ’ ve been together for 30 years .
HM : Are you thinking about having your own family ?
GD : Of course I ’ m thinking about that . I hate to say it this way , but I push myself sometimes to be a little more « basic » than what I usually am , just live that life of not doing anything for a little bit .
The trick is to always have the right ratio between positive and negative thoughts and to be more towards the positive .
HM : Do you think that because your parents are from the sports world that it helps you a lot to make your career ?
GD : I like to think so . My dad was my tennis coach , so of course everything that I am on the court is him . I always felt the love . That in itself is already such a big help as a kid , to just lift you up . And then , obviously , I was alone for so long , but I managed to stay on
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course . Of course I ’ ve had some tough years , but I never lost sight of what was my primary goal .
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HM : Talking in general , do you have any rolemodels , people who inspired you , not just in sports ?
GD : There ’ s a lot of people that I like and who I look up to . One of the only things that I always followed was my gut , my instinct , my intuition . People always ask me : « What advice would you give to a kid or somebody that is your huge fan ?» and I would say , I appreciate that somebody asks me that , and the kid is a fan of mine , but I would never tell the kid to do what I did . I can only guide and navigate myself and then of course tell about my own experience . So I always say : « Find your own way , carve your own path ».
© Grigor Dimitrov
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© Grigor Dimitrov |
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