RPT-FEATURE-Tennis-Pressure is on Bulgaria's Dimitrov
(Repeats feature first moved at 0002 GMT)
SOFIA, Oct 14 (Reuters) - Grigor Dimitrov must safely negotiate the leap from junior to senior success if he is to become Bulgaria's first male champion, says tennis coach Julia Berberian.
Dimitrov has won two junior Grand Slam titles this year and a leading coach considers him the best 17-year-old he has ever seen but mental strength is what will count as he tries to break into the men's elite, Berberian says.
As mother and coach to the three Maleeva sisters, who took turns to feature in the world's top six in the 1980s and 1990s, Berberian can take credit for making the women's game successful in Bulgaria.
The men's game, though, has yet to produce anyone to match the achievements of the Maleevas -- Manuela, Katerina and Magdalena -- who won 34 WTA Tour singles titles between them.
Bulgaria has never had a male player higher than world number 96, a ranking achieved by Orlin Stanoytchev eight years ago.
So the pressure is on Dimitrov after his junior triumphs at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
"No doubt winning these tournaments is a big achievement but he should realise it's a completely different world to be successful in men's competitions," Berberian told Reuters at the family tennis complex in Sofia. Continued...
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