Bulgaria's top tennis player Grigor Dimitrov recorded his first victory against Roger Federer at the BNP Paribas Showdown, which took place at the Madison Square Garden in New York on Wednesday.

While his victory should not be underestimated, it should not be forgotten that it came in an exhibition match against an opponent, who is ten years older than him.

The looming question is could Dimitrov repeat his success against an opponent of Federer's rank in an official match?

The even more pressing question is could he record a string of victories against the world's top players in order to claim his first Grand Slam title?

Dimitrov's talent is undisputed – he has already made it to the Top 10 of the ATP ranking by the age of 23 and won three titles on three different surfaces in 2014.

The Bulgarian has already proven that he is capable of winning against the best players, when he defeated Andy Murray at home soil at the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2014.

He played well at his first Grand Slam semifinal, but lack of experience caused him to concede the victory to Novak Djokovic, who then went on to win the title at Wimbledon.

Since the summer of 2014 and especially since the start of the new year, Dimitrov has not been performing as well.

The most worrying trend is that Dimitrov seems to lack concentration and confidence in the decisive matches.

Another disturbing trait is the inability to hold his nerves, which was demonstrated on two occasions when Dimitrov broke intentionally his rackets against the floor.

Part of this could be attributed to his lack of experience, but a quick look shows that by the age of 23, all three top tennis players – Djokovic, Federer and Nadal had already won a Grand Slam title.

In an interview during the exhibition match, Federer predicted that Dimitrov will be among the players that will dominate tennis in the next ten years.
However Dimitrov will need to seriously work on his motivation and concentration in order to fulfill Federer's prophecy.

The win against Federer could serve as an ideal starting point for boosting his confidence and inspiration in the forthcoming tournaments, as time is ticking away for his first Grand Slam title.