We know that the number of break points a player saves in a given match can be a crucial statistic. But what about the number of game points he or she saves? The ability to break serve after your opponent has reached game point is a measure of a player’s stubbornness. Rafael Nadal and Maria Sharapova, two cussed competitors who are famous for never giving anything away, both have a knack for fighting through long, multi-deuce games to break their opponents’ serves—and, as often as not, their spirits.
Grigor Dimitrov is not known for this knack. No one has ever doubted the Bulgarian’s talent; it’s his toughness that has been questioned. But you couldn’t question it last week at the ATP Finals in London. During the early, round-robin portion of the event, Dimitrov showed off his varied arsenal of shots in a pair of runaway victories. Then, when the matches got tighter in the semis and final, he toughened up. On Saturday and Sunday, Dimitrov won two three-setters over two opponents who refused to go away easily, Jack Sock and David Goffin. The 26-year-old went 5-0 in his London debut, all against Top 10 opponents. His reward was the biggest title of his career.
In the final, it was Dimitrov’s ability to break Goffin’s serve when it appeared that Goffin was going to hold that made the difference. The first of these momentum-changing games came with the Belgian serving at 5-6 in the opening set. Dimitrov went up 15-40, only to see Goffin wipe away both set points with forehand winners; the second one elicited a rare show of frustration from Dimitrov’s coach, the mild-mannered Dani Vallverdu, who punched the tarp behind him. But Dimitrov himself didn’t get angry or lose heart; instead, he hung around and forced Goffin to keep serving, and keep hitting that forehand. Finally, on Dimitrov’s fifth set point, a weary-looking Goffin sent one into the net.
The scenario was much the same an hour or so later, when Goffin stepped to the line to serve at 2-3 in the third set. This time Goffin went up 30-0 on his serve, only to see Dimitrov come back to reach break point. After the two of them went back and forth for a few deuces, Dimitrov finally broke through when a Goffin backhand sailed wide. Again, it felt as if Dimitrov had outlasted his opponent mentally. When he went up 5-2, it felt like the victory was his.
As we know, though, old habits, and nervous habits, die hard. It would take Dimitrov five match points—three on Goffin’s serve and two on his own—to clinch the win. It would also take a little bit of luck. With a chance to get back to deuce on Dimitrov’s serve at 3-5, Goffin flipped an easy drop volley into the net that would have won him the point. Dimitrov, a 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 winner, fell face-first to the court, and stayed there.