What if the 2024 season marked the big return of “Baby Fed”? The Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov dominated the Dane Holger Rune (8e world) in the final of the ATP 250 tournament in Brisbane, Sunday January 7, at the end of a particularly close match (7-6, 6-4).
The number 2 seed (14e world player) beat his younger brother (20 years old), seeded number 1, and thus launched his season perfectly. Above all, the 32-year-old confirms his current form after having signed a thunderous end to the 2023 season: semi-finals at the Masters 1000 in Shanghai, then final at that of Paris. He promises to be one of the outsiders to watch at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, which starts on January 14.
Often compared since his debut on the professional circuit to Roger Federer, from whom he has never hidden his stylistic inspiration, Dimitrov displayed his range of shots on Sunday, starting with his one-handed backhand. After a first set where both players had to take turns saving break points, the deciding game quickly turned to the advantage of the elder.
In the second set, Dimitrov, more solid and more inspired than his tempestuous rival, had to do it four times to finally manage to seize his serve at 4-3. The Bulgarian was never again worried about the game. Rune saved the first two match points, before collapsing on the third. Dimitrov also collapsed, literally, overcome by emotion.
With this victory in the antipodes, the Bulgarian offers himself the 9the title of his career and puts an end to a drought of more than six years. His last trophy dates back to the end-of-year Masters (which brings together the eight best players of the season) at the end of 2017.
Rybakina and Gauff titled before Melbourne
Kazakh Elena Rybakina, 4e world player, easily beat (6-0, 6-3) the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, 2e world, in the final of the WTA 500 tournament in Brisbane, Sunday January 7. In a final in the form of a remake of that of the 2023 Australian Open, won by Sabalenka, Rybakina took her revenge to win the sixth title of her career and build up her confidence one week before the start of the first lift of the Grand Slam (January 14 to 29). For her part, the American Coco Gauff held on to beat the Ukrainian Elina Svitolina in three sets (6-7, 6-3, 6-3) and retain her title at the 250 tournament in Auckland.