Roger Federer thinks “Baby Fed” monicker for Dimitrov should be dropped

Roger Federer believes that people should let go of the “Baby Fed” monicker for Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov. The Swiss star defeated Dimitrov at the Swiss Indoors Basel quarterfinal a week ago and told reporters that it’s no longer amusing.

“I hope people don’t call him Baby Fed so often anymore,” Federer said. “At first it’s funny, but it gets annoying.”

Tennis analyst and coach Darren Cahill was quoted by New York Times saying that comparing Federer’s and Dimitrov’s similar type of play has led to this nickname.

“I’m sure Grigor doesn’t like it that much, and I’m sure Fed has a bit of a wry smile about it, but the comparisons are there,” Cahill was quoted as saying. “So I don’t think it’s bad for the public to make those comparisons. In the end, it’s going to be up to Grigor to step out of those shoes and step into his own shoes, and I think he’s on the way to doing that. He’s a good kid, a really down-to-earth kid. He’s got the right intentions. He’s working extremely hard. He knows physically he has to get a lot stronger and a lot better because the wear and tear of the circuit can get to him, and he has trouble playing over five sets.”