Grigor Dimitrov: "I really have nothing to prove to anybody other than myself, I feel like this is my time"

Grigor Dimitrov finds himself amid a bit of a purple patch, having just taken his first top-5 win of the season in Beijing only to follow it up with another strong start to his campaign at the Shanghai Masters.

The Bulgarian had ousted Holger Rune last week in the Chinese capital before pushing eventual champion Jannik Sinner to three sets in the quarterfinals. At Shanghai this fortnight, he will draw confidence from his performances against opponents a decade younger than him.

Speaking about the motivation that keeps him going, Dimitrov said he does not put any pressure on himself as he feels that he does not have anything to prove to anyone but himself.

"Yeah, I mean, as I said that, I think even in the past couple of years, in a way I really have, in a way, nothing to prove to anybody other than myself. I think this is, I feel like this is my time, the time for me," he said at a press conference.

Dimitrov went on to express gratitude to his family, friends, and sponsors who have supported him throughout his career.

"Like, I'm very grateful to my family, to my close friends, to all my sponsors. Everyone that has been in my team and still are still around. I'm very thankful and I feel like whatever I have achieved is also because of them," he continued.

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"It's always good to get further in the tournament" - Grigor Dimitrov on Shanghai Masters result

Grigor Dimitrov will look to match his best result in Shanghai.

Grigor Dimitrov got the better of Aleksander Vukic in the opening round of the Shanghai Masters to reach the Round of 32. On being asked about the motivation to better his results at big tournaments, the Bulgarian said he has always liked the court conditions in Shanghai but was looking at things one round at a time.

"I mean, it's always good. Honestly, it's always good to get further in the tournament like that. I mean, I've always liked the conditions out here, but I feel like I always had tough rounds, to be honest. Now, it's no different. Every round is going to get tougher and tougher," he said.

Shifting the focus to his second-round performance, Dimitrov said he was happy to have closed out the contest in straight sets as that will give him time to recover and be ready for the next battle.

"I'm happy that I was able to finish in straight sets today, which was the important part for me. Yeah, I think I play again tomorrow, so try to recover as much as possible and get out there again," he added.

Dimitrov will next face Karen Khachanov, who beat Beibit Zhukayev 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-2 in his second-round match.