Grigor Dimitrov risks French Open qualifying after ranking drop

Photo by Marleen Fouchier/BSR Agency/Getty Images Grigor Dimitrov could find himself in an unfamiliar position after his early exit from the Monte Carlo Masters. Dimitrov picked up a pectoral injury at Wimbledon last year, which kept him out of action for nearly four months. The Bulgarian has managed only three wins from 10 matches since returning and hit his lowest ranking in over a decade following the Miami Open.

That number is set to drop again after his first-round loss to Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Monte Carlo, and it could even be enough to keep him out of the French Open. Grigor Dimitrov has to play Grand Slam qualifying for the first time since 2012 Photo by George Walker/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images Last year, he reached the Monte Carlo Masters final, but this year he’ll lose 190 ranking points and drop out of the top 100 for the first time since then. He is currently sitting at number 135 in the live rankings and will have to play French Open qualifying with the entry cut-off coming next week when ATP rankings are updated.

The pectoral injury also forced him to miss last year’s US Open, which was his first missed Grand Slam appearance since then. This time, however, it’s his ranking that has prevented direct entry into Roland Garros. Dimitrov did manage to come through qualifying at that Australian Open before losing in the second round of the main draw to Stan Wawrinka.

Dimitrov’s long stretch inside top 100 was only behind Novak Djokovic among active players The only active player who had spent more consecutive weeks in the top 100 than Dimitrov is Novak Djokovic. He has held this ranking since July of 2005. With Grigor Dimitrov now falling out of this group after his defeat in Monte Carlo, Zverev takes over as having been inside it for longer than any other current player apart from Djokovic.