Conference Bulgarian was based mainly on the possible appearance in the tournament final in London.
He sits 175 points behind eighth-place Tomas Berdych with a quarterfinals appearance in Beijing being worth 180. Of course, the two are not the only ones fighting for the spot, and Dimitrov knows he's going to have a battle for the finish.
"I need to perform with my best every week basically from now on," Dimitrov said. "That's the most important thing… I don't want to stop here. Of course, I want to get to London. That's going to be probably the ultimate reward for me."
"If not, then it's not meant to happen."
If it's not meant to happen and Dimitrov doesn't produce results this week, it will be easy to blame it on his tough draw, the tricky hurdle.
The Bulgarian faces Fernando Verdasco, a player he's never beaten, in the first round. After that, he may have to face and beat good friend and two-time defending China Open champion Novak Djokovic just to reach the quarterfinals.
Dimitrov, though, told the press not to forget that upsets become more common this time of year.
"Let's not forget it's the end of the year and some of the players are not feeling the best way," Dimitrov said. " You have to have that in mind. I think at some point the mental toughness comes into play more than anything else."
To have a chance for a deep run this week, though, Dimitrov knows he will have to return to the mental and physical form he displayed this summer.
After great grass court showings in England, he had a strong start to his hard court season that included a semifinals appearance in Canada. More recently, though, the Bulgarian faced early exits in Cincinnati and Flushing Meadows.
"It's more important for me to focus on my game and the way I've been playing lately," Dimitrov said. "I had a few really good matches early on the hard court season, so I'm looking forward to keep up that form."
Dimitrov added that he feels comfortable on the courts currently and is positive that he can "come up with the goods."
Any goods he can come up with this week would go a long way in getting Dimitrov to London.
chinaopen.com
