Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.

Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov has given a big snub to his country by skipping this week’s inaugural Sofia Open ATP event, preferring instead to train in Sweden. The No. 28 may feel he has some work to do after losing in four sets in the third round of the Australian Open.

All during his career, the 24-year-old has had to live with comparisons of his game to that of the master Federer. And so far, the pressure has gotten to the player, who once broke the top 10 but has settled back into mid-range on the ATP.

No logical reason has been given for Dimitrov’s absence from the new tournament in the Bulgarian capital, hosting an event for the first time in 35 years. Dimitrov surely turned down a guarantee to show up at home and is copping criticism for the decision.

“My body feels good, I’m tired, but I think more mentally than physically, after nearly four weeks racing. So I need some rest, we need to review and analyze my matches here, to see where we can improve and how we’re doing at the moment,” Dimitrov said in Australia.

Dimitrov also drew criticism after he pulled from a Davis Cup playoff tie last season against Hungary.

After a mediocre 2015 season, Dimitrov seems to be shaking up his schedule and not entering next week’s Rotterdam event where Federer is the top seed. and where Dimitrov lost in the second round a year ago to Gilles Muller after playing a 2013 semi-final against Juan Del Potro.

His strategy seems to be avoiding indoor events, which he will substitute by playing on cement in Florida at the Delray Beach tournament this month. Dimitrov has already lost twice in 2016 to Federer, in a Brisbane quarter-final and in the third round at Melbourne.

Copyright © 2016. No duplication is permitted without permission from Bob Larson Tennis.