Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria returns the ball during his men's quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, October 3, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Lee
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria returns the ball during his men's quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia at the China Open tennis tournament in Beijing, October 3, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Lee REUTERS

Grigor Dimitrov failed to defend his title at the 2014 If Stockholm Open. Dimitrov lost to top seed Tomas Berdych 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 on October 19.

Speaking after the match via the Association of Tennis Professionals' (ATP) website, Dimitrov said the finale was a "good match." He further uttered that it was never easy to lose, but he acknowledged the fact that Berdych played better tennis. "He had bigger momentum in the second and third sets," Dimitrov said. "That made the biggest difference," he added.

Meanwhile, the Czech athlete was extremely pleased with his victory over Dimitrov. Berdych first won the If Stockholm Open trophy in 2012, where defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, in the finals. "It's the first and only tournament I've won twice," Berdych said. He said he has always enjoyed coming back in Stockholm because the "hospitality and care" he had received in the past had been very nice.

Dimitrov won the first set, but the Czech was determined to turn things around, which he was able to do so. Berdych fired 13 aces and led the match in the percentage of first serve points won at 75 percent. Berdych took home 94,500 euros prize money and 250 event points, while Dimitrov has earned €49,770 prize money and 150 event points from the tournament.

The finals of the 2014 If Stockholm Open was the fifth professional meeting for Dimitrov and Berdych. It was pair's third meeting in the current season. They previously played against each other in the Round 16 of the Madrid Open, where Berdych won 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, and the Rome Open, where Dimitrov won 6-7(3) 6-2 6-2. Dimitrov still leads their head-to-head record at 3-2.

Dimitrov will compete next at the 2014 Swiss Indoors in Basel, which will run from October 20 to 26. The Bulgarian athlete is named as the fifth seed and will meet Alexander Zverev of Germany in the first round. As for Berdych, his next tournament will be the Valencia Open 500. Berdych enters the tournament as the second seed and will face Pablo Andujar of Spain in the first round.

RELATED STORIES