Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov has been on a roll at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. As masterful as he is on the court, he is hilarious off it. Dimitrov is well-known for pranking his friends and colleagues on the tour, and they were not spared in China either.
Grigor pulled off a hilarious prank at the expense of Carlos Alcaraz, Daniil Medvedev, and others. It was funny because the players thought they were filming a promo. However, it turned out that Grigor was feeding them silly phrases to say in Mandarin, that were captured on camera.
It was comical to see the players struggling with the enunciation of the phrases. It was nerve-wracking too, as Stefanos Tsitsipas mentioned he was sweating. Taylor Fritz and Alcaraz struggled, but they kept at it till they got it right.
The players thought they were filming a promo…
…but they weren’t.
Introducing Lost In Translation – starring chief prankster Grigor Dimitrov 🫢#RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/p66kJVlVGH
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 12, 2023
Grigor got the young Spaniard to repeat a phrase, which meant “I am a goat,” and had him bleat too! The Mandarin phrase for Fritz was, “My girlfriend is more popular than me.” Once Taylor found out the real meaning, he acknowledged that his girlfriend, Morgan Riddle, probably was more famous than him.
Grigor was in splits throughout. He even pushed the production team to get the players to give it their best shot. Medvedev and Ben Shelton also fell for the practical joke. Shelton’s phrase, “I want to make a phone call,” was a callback to his controversial phone call celebration. As for Daniil, he nailed his delivery of, “This going to be on TennisTV!”
Grigor Dimitrov has been exceptional at the Shanghai Masters so far. He made it to the quarterfinals, by defeating the favorite, Alcaraz.
Grigor Dimitrov caused a major upset in Shanghai
The Bulgarian star caused one of the biggest upsets of the tournament when he ousted Carlos Alcaraz. Heading into the tournament, Alcaraz was one of the favorites to win the title. However, top-seeded Carlos could not overcome the 18th seed when they clashed for a spot in the last eight.
This was the first time in four matches that Grigor defeated Carlos. It was a close match, as both players toe-to-toe. Carlos took the opening set, before Dimitrov staged a brilliant comeback, defeating Alcaraz 5-7, 6-2, 6-4.
Pure. Tennis. Joy.
Grigor Dimitrov’s top 5 plays as he stunned Carlos Alcaraz in Shanghai! pic.twitter.com/ge24cQSIXa
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 11, 2023
“I stayed in the match, that was the first thing, especially after the first set. I think I understood his service games and was able to put more balls in and read his serve a bit better,” said Grigor after the match (via ATP Tour).
Grigor Dimitrov’s rise again after all these years is incredible to watch. He will hope to continue in that fiery form when he takes on Nicolas Jarry in the quarterfinals.