somewhat similar to that of Roger Federer. When hitting, unlike most players, he uses his elbow, wrist, and arm to generate power instead of his body. His forehand is known to be very heavy, powerful and accurate and is his primary weapon. He uses it to generate sudden pace in baseline rallies, often catching his opponents off guard. Dimitrov employs a conventional single-handed backhand. His backhand is one of the most versatile in the game due to his ability to hit it with top-spin, flat, and his backhand slice, which John McEnroe has said is the best slice in the game. He also has a slightly unusual follow-through and finish on his backhand, often straightening out his hand and extending it all the way across his waist, which some have said is a weakness due to the time taken to recover by recoiling his arm. Dimitrov usually uses his backhand as a rally stroke to build up points rather than hit immediate winners, although he is known to be able to generate significant pace on his backhand when returning a weak shot from his opponent or when neutralising a fast-paced shot. He has displayed this ability more than 50 times alone in his semi-final against Rafael Nadal on the Australian Open 2017. Dimitrov has a solid fast serve, often reaching 210 km/h, (130 mph) up to 220 km/h (137 mph). His first serve has been known to be pivotal, often producing aces on important points. Dimitrov employs more top-spin on his second serve, making it slower but more consistent. In 2017 however he had a big problem with double faults as he made 254 of them (around 40 more than 2016), although he made his best season so far. One aspect of Dimitrov's game that has been widely praised is his variety and flexibility. He is comfortable playing on all areas of the court, having solid ground strokes and exceptional touch at the net. He also employs aggressive drop shots to catch opponents off guard and is even known to frequently use fakes, especially on the forehand side, to fake drop shots instead of fast ground strokes, wrongfooting opponents. His speed and athleticism are also exceptional, as is famous for using slide, sometimes even to the point of splitting, to reach balls. He also occasionally dives to reach balls, one of the most famous occasions being his second round match