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Handling the hype is part of the job for any talented young tennis player but being labelled 'the new Roger Federer' and touted as the next big thing in the men's game means has more to deal with than most.

Why all the attention? Well, in a sport desperate for new blood to challenge the established order - the same four players began and ended the year at the top of the ATP rankings, and only three men other than Federer or Rafael Nadal have won a single Grand Slam since the start of 2005 - the 19-year-old Bulgarian is widely seen as potentially the next big star of a new generation of tennis talent.

Dimitrov's burgeoning reputation is down to his rapid rise from outside the top 350 to the fringes of the top 100 in the world over the last six months, and on the way to becoming the world's top-ranked male teenager at the end of 2010.

And the resemblance to Federer, who incidentally has been his idol since childhood, is easy to see too. On court, they share the same sweeping single-handed backhand, exciting attacking game and even a trademark bandana.

Off it, their professional careers were both launched by the same coach, Peter Lundgren, who says Dimitrov is the more talented. No pressure there then.

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