Grigor Dimitrov’s semifinal run in Shanghai is a good time to notice he’s having one of his best seasons

The player who made the biggest splash in Shanghai on Friday wasn’t in the tournament. It was, perhaps not surprisingly, Roger Federer. The two-time champion, and eternal favorite among the local fans, stopped by to smile, say hello, bash some balls into the crowd and catch some of the quarterfinals.

One of the quarterfinalists was Grigor Dimitrov, a man who modeled his game so closely on the Swiss that he was tagged, to his increasing irritation, with the nickname Baby Fed. He didn’t become the next Federer, we know now, but he did become good friends, and even a member of the same boy band, with the Maestro. Together with Tommy Haas, Federer and Dimitrov once harmonized as the One-Handed Backhand Boys. Asked on Friday if there was a reunion in the works, Dimitrov wouldn’t rule it out.

“Our lives have gone separate ways,” he said with a mock-sentimental laugh. “I really would love to, honestly. I cherish those moments so much that, maybe we’ll come up with something when you guys least expect it.”

Whether that’s a promise or a threat may depend on your musical taste.

The One-Handed Backhand Boys were formed in 2017, Dimitrov’s peak year. That season he won five titles, including the ATP Finals and the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati, and finished No. 3 in the world. Many of us wondered if he about to fulfill his early, Baby Fed promise; as a junior, Dimitrov was ranked No. 1 in the world. Instead, over the last six years, he has come down off the mountaintop. By the end of the following season, he was No. 19, and that’s exactly where’s he ranked today.

But if Dimitrov’s inability to win a major or reach No. 1 in his early career was a disappointment, his ability to keep himself in the Top 20 in his 30s has been achievement worth respecting. While it can be hard to see, Dimitrov has quietly produced his best season since 2017.

No, he hasn’t won any titles or threatened at any of the Slams. But he came to Shanghai with a 31-18 record, and he reached the fourth round at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. This week he finally made the tennis world sit up and take notice by beating Carlos Alcaraz. And he suffered no letdown in the quarters, where he beat Nicolas Jarry 7-6 (2), 6-4. Before this week, Dimitrov was 0-3 versus Alcaraz, and 0-2 versus Jarry.

“For myself, it’s what I want,” Dimitrov said after beating Jarry. “To put myself in those positions to play against all these players that are not only difficult to play, but players I haven’t beaten.”

“I think, slowly but surely, I’m doing that.”

At 32, Dimitrov still sounds like a wide-eyed rookie who is trying to learn something new from every match, believing that his best still lies ahead. He started his career as a flashy wunderkind who seemed destined to be an underachiever, but now he seems destined to finish it as a guy who got the most out of his game. He doesn’t have Federer’s results, but he still plays an exciting, graceful, free-flowing brand of tennis.

That attitude extends to his time off the court. Dimitrov has traveled the world hundreds of time over, but unlike many of his fellow players, he continues to learn from the places he goes, and tries to learn about himself. That seems especially true of his return to Asia over the past four weeks.

“I’ve been here for a month now, exactly a month,” he said. “You have quite a bit of time on your own…so your mind is wandering, your mind is going into places.”

“I think, throughout, the amount of emotions that I’ve gone through in that month, has been something I’ve never experienced in my life, and I feel a big growth from it…It’s almost spiritual for me.”

Dimitrov says this season has been especially satisfying because his results have held steady, with fewer ups and downs than usual. He has lost just one first-round match, in Indian Wells.

“I prefer to be more consistent, because I think this is where I feel like I’m building more and I’m learning more about myself, my game,” he said.

At this stage of his career, when he can’t practice or play the way he did when he was 22, or 25, or even 28, he says he needs “to be kinder to myself in order to put myself in a position to perform.”

That also goes for the way he plays from one point to the next. Dimitrov can still sprint from the baseline to the net in time to put away a high volley, but he wins with patience now. He’s happy to slice his backhand over and over, and wait for the right moment to attack. He’s happy to defend and make his opponent hit an extra ball. He did both of those things to great effect against the bigger-hitting Alcaraz and Jarry this week.

For myself, it’s what I want. To put myself in those positions to play against all these players that are not only difficult to play, but players I haven’t beaten. Grigor Dimitrov

What made Dimitrov happiest about his quarterfinal win? When he was informed that he committed just three unforced errors, and didn’t face a break point.

“That’s cool, I didn’t know,” he said, smiling. “That’s very nice. I would say that’s what a decent match would look like.”

Dimitrov will try to reach his second final of the season when he faces Andrey Rublev on Saturday. Typically, he praised his opponent’s personality as much as his game.

“Overall, tremendous guy,” Dimitrov said of Rublev. “I don’t think I have enough words to say on him.”

Fifteen years into a career that once seemed destined for disappointment, Dimitrov is still finding reasons to play, on and off the court.