site.btaTennis Player Kuzmanov Aims at Debuts in Top 150, Grand Slam Main Draw in 2024

Bulgarian tennis player Dimitar Kuzmanov’s goals for the 2024 season are to debut in the top 150 of the world rankings and in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament and to win a title. The 30-year-old gave an interview to BTA, in which he reflected on the past year and reminisced the historic success with the Bulgarian team, which qualified for Davis Cup’s World Group I the first time since the format change of the competition. Kuzmanov also commented on the construction process of the facilities of his tennis club in Plovdiv.

Looking back to his 2023 season, the second highest ranked Bulgarian male player (currently No.207) said he managed to fulfil some of his goals, while he could not achieve others but he described his performance during the year as “solid". "I certainly could have done a lot better, but the most important thing is that I maintained the same level throughout the year. I came 2 points away from a tournament title in Bratislava, I can define the season as a success," he explained.

On February 5, Bulgaria qualified for World Group I for the first time since the format changes of the Davis Cup, winning against New Zealand in the qualifier. Kuzmanov defined that as one of the best moments for him this year. This gave the Bulgarian national team the chance to play for a place in the qualifications for the Davis Cup by Rakuten Finals (the pinnacle of the competition where the best 16 teams in the world meet) but Kazakhstan won the tie in September moving on to the next stage of the competition. 

“Unfortunately, we could not win the tie, but it was very competitive. However, we certainly won the people over, which may have been the bigger win because despite losing, we got a lot of love from the crowd. The stands of the National Tennis Centre were packed. Such team successes lift the spirit of Bulgarian sport and the Bulgarian fan,” the tennis player stressed. 

In 2022, Kuzmanov managed to reach the final qualifying match for a place in the main draw at three of the four Grand Slam tournaments but lost in each of those opportunities. In 2023 he did not manage to perform at the same level at the four biggest events in the ATP Tour.

"There's no difference between the opponents you play in the first and second rounds [of Grand Slam qualifiers] and the opponents you play in the final round. The only thing that is different is the mental strain, because it is a huge step and a big achievement for each of us. Maybe the reason for the losses was purely psychological. In the end, the important thing is that I am gaining experience along the way and I can say that I am ready mentally and technically,” he stated.

Kuzmanov founded his own tennis club in Plovdiv but the procedures surrounding the construction of the club facilities are long and progressing slowly. “There are now new local leadership and a new city council. Still this cumbersome process continues, as much as we want to hurry, unfortunately many things are stopping us. However, I am not giving up and neither are the people who are beside me. When there is news, I will announce it. Iwill not stop until it becomes a reality,” he underlined.

Kuzmanov pointed out that he is already at the second stage of his preparation for next season. After a week of training in Stara Zagora, the practice continues at the National Tennis Centre of Slovakia in Bratislava. The new season starts at the end of December in Australia.