US Open: Meet the 405th-ranked player who beat Grigor Dimitrov six weeks before he took out Roger Federer
FLUSHING MEADOWS, N.Y. -- Six weeks before the biggest victory of his life late Tuesday night, Grigor Dimitrov was in Atlanta, a Bulgarian lost in the tennis woods.
He was playing the first round of an ATP tour event, the BB&T Atlanta Open. He was searching desperately for his game, for the form that made him the No. 3 player in the world just two years ago.
Dimitrov’s opponent was a 28-year-old left-hander named Kevin King, a former Georgia Tech All-American with a degree in mechanical engineering, and the 405th-ranked player in the world.
King, a big server, had to win two qualifying matches to get into the main draw. He broke Dimitrov seven times and played to his backhand, and scored a 7-5, 6-4 victory.
It was King’s first tour-level triumph in six years as a pro tennis player.
“I was excited to have the opportunity to play him,” King told Paste BN Sports after finishing a practice session Wednesday. “I’ve watched him play for a lot of years. It was definitely the biggest win I’ve had.”
King watched this same Grigor Dimitrov upset Roger Federer, the most prolific champion in tennis history, in five sets in the US Open quarterfinals Tuesday night, his first victory over Federer after seven defeats. King was riveted by the artistry and ball-striking, and the difference in Dimitrov’s game.
“It just shows the importance of confidence,” King said. “When he’s playing well, he is one of the best players in the world and he proved it (in beating Federer).
Currently ranked No. 78, Dimitrov, 28, has had a year of dizzying extremes. He missed almost two months early in the year with a troublesome shoulder injury, struggling through a brutal grass and hardcourt season. Dimitrov was close in nearly every match, but week after week came up short, losing seven of eight matches coming into the Open – the low point coming in Atlanta against King.
“It was not a pretty time,” Dimitrov said. “I'm not going to lie. ... It was that low that I don't even want to go there any more. It was just obviously injury, losing points, ranking. That's the lowest point of any player.
"I think the past six, seven months have been pretty rough for me. But I had somebody to lean on, my friends, my family. I kept on believing again in the work, the rehab I had to put behind my shoulder, the exercise, the practice, fixing up the racquet a little bit.
“There were so many things I had to adjust in such a small but big period of time. Next thing you know, you're almost end of the year, you have a result like that. It's pretty special to me.”
Now Dimitrov is into his first Open semifinal, hoping to continue his resurgence against No. 5 Daniil Medvedev of Russia on Friday. King will also be busy this weekend, heading a challenger in Cary, North Carolina, hoping to win some matches and get his ranking higher. King, ranked No. 407, got as high as No. 162 in May 2018. He is looking to get into the top 250, which would enable him to get into qualifying play for Australia.
“I’m just trying to take some confidence from the summer and finish the year strong,” King said. He was heartened not only by his victory over Dimitrov, but by what it means for his chances of making the climb up the ladder. It’s a bit surreal to know that while he’s playing in Cary the man he beat six weeks ago is in the final four of the year’s last Grand Slam.
“I think it just shows you how small the margins are in tennis,” King said. “There are a lot of good players. There is a lot of depth. I’m really happy for him that he’s had this breakthrough.”
Follow Wayne Coffey on Twitter @wr_coffey