Roger Federer, who is set to make his 2015 Istanbul Open debut this week, admitted that he's impressed with Grigor Dimitrov's improvement over the past few years, adding the Bulgarian is on his way to become a permanent fixture in the top-5 ATP World rankings.
After taking a one-week break from the court, Federer will resume his clay-court campaign this week at the inaugural Istanbul Open. Although it's just an ATP 250 event, the presence of Federer and another up-and-coming netter in Dimitrov has already given the tournament a major boost in its first year.
Speaking of Dimitrov, the 33-year old Federer feels Dimitrov, the man hailed as Baby Fed because of striking similarities with their styles, is capable of achieving something bigger over the next few years after seeing him improve almost every facet of his game.
The Swiss Master believed the Bulgarian just needs to add a little bit more to his current game in order for him to take that jump to the top-5 of the world rankings, a scenario Federer won't be surprised to see very soon.
"He has improved a lot, but still need to add more. I think he'll soonly be a top 5 player," Federer said of Dimitrov during the press conference on Monday in Istanbul.
Dimitrov, who happens to be Maria Sharapova's boyfriend, also believes that he has done just enough over the last two years to move out of Federer's shadow and become a favorite of his own self.
"I would like to win my first Slam title at Wimbledon. Me as Baby Federer? I grew up, that's an old thing. I am my own favorite player now," Dimitrov said of the Baby Fed stigma.