MELBOURNE, Australia — From the beginning of Grigor Dimitrov’s career, his stylistic similarities to Roger Federer were obvious. But as he has stagnated over the past 18 months, their differences are becoming more apparent.
Federer, seeded third, dispatched Dimitrov, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday, improving his record against Dimitrov to 5-0.
“I was hoping to have a better result,” Dimitrov, the No. 27 seed, said. “I’m not going to lie.”
After an ascendant 2014 in which he broke into the top 10, Dimitrov stalled last year.