Dimitrov is looking to beat Murray again (©GettyImages). Grigor Dimitrov has his eyes firmly set on a place at the ATP World Tour Finals at London's O2 Arena despite strong competition for places.
The season-ending tournament is available only to those who finish the year in the top eight and whilst currently sitting in tenth, it could take something special from the Bulgarian to achieve his goal.
He isn't the only one, however, even two-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray is desperately scrapping for points. His first title in 15 months in Shenzhen only came about after the 27-year-old accept a wildcard to boost his ranking.
Race to London
As you might expect, the big three of Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have already qualified, meanwhile Australian Open winner Stanislas Wawrinka is on the brink of making it.
That realistically leaves four spots left to occupy and a season of breakthroughs mean that the intriguing race is set to run down to the wire, with only a few more tournaments left between now and the November start for the Finals.
Dimitrov had his eureka moment at Wimbledon when he beat defending champion Murray before eventually losing in the semi-finals. However, despite his hard work, the stylish player's place isn't secure.
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Perform
“I need to perform with my best every week basically from now on,” the 23-year-old admitted to ATP. “That's the most important thing. After all, I've been having a great year so far.
"I don't want to stop here. Of course, I want to get to London. That's going to be the ultimate reward for me, to get to London. If not, then it's not meant to happen. I'm positive in my power in the moment and how I've been performing, and I'm sure I can come up with the goods.”
Dimitrov isn't the only man to have a better-than-usual season, however, and the current standings represent that.
Breakthroughs
US Open winner Marin Cilic and his defeated finalist Kei Nishikori marked new territory with their astonishing runs at Flushing Meadows, they are now fifth and sixth respectively and know decent showings will be enough.
Perhaps the pair who will have the biggest reason to peer over their shoulders are seventh placed David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych, who occupies the last place.
Berdych is ready to compete at the China Open alongside the likes of Djokovic and Nadal to pick-up some vital points. Murray and Dimitrov will be looking to out-do the Czech player in Beijing this week.
Danger
Ferrer, however, opted for a trip to Japan for his part in the Asian swing off the back of playing at Shenzhen, yet the 32-year-old's chances received a blow in the Japanese capital after a first round defeat.
Eager to take advantage of Ferrer's slip is Milos Raonic who is also in Japan at the moment. The ninth-placed Canadian could leapfrog the Spaniard with a strong performance.
With everyone dotted around the two tournaments at the moment, things could become clearer when everyone should compete together for Masters 1000 events in Shaghai and Paris later this month.
One thing is for sure, however, nobody can afford to slip-up.
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