Grigor Dimitrov has heaped praise on his girlfriend Nicole Scherzinger, claiming she was the factor behind his victory at the Nitto ATP Finals in London on Sunday. Following the triumph, in a rare display of affection, the tennis champion said: "I want to thank one person here, my girlfriend Nicole." The singer was not on hand to support him as she was filming X Factor, prompting Grigor to joke: "She's somewhere hiding. She deserves quite a bit of credit this week, she's been amazing." The 26-year-old sports star did not shy away from dedicating his win to Nicole, 39, after he beat Belgium's David Goffin.
Grigor Dimitrov has been dating Nicole Scherzinger since 2015
The couple, who have been dating since 2015, prefer to keep their relationship out of the spotlight. News of their romance came months after Nicole's high-profile split from Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton. Grigor previously dated fellow tennis ace Maria Sharapova but the couple split in July 2015 after three years. In a previous interview with Fabulous magazine, Nicole gushed about her romance with Grigor: "We've been together for quite some time now, so I'm just living in the moment and I'm happy. It's good for girls to be with nice guys. Respect the nice ones - they can win! He's so damn cute."
STORY: Nicole Scherzinger confirms romance with tennis star Grigor Dimitrov
Speaking about her ex-partner Lewis, she added: "I think that we... wish each other well. In all honesty, it's in my past and I'm all about keeping the past in the past." During an interview on The Jonathan Ross Show in 2015, Lewis touched upon his relationship with Nicole, saying: "I've been in two relationships in my life, I was 18 to 22 and 23 to 30 and so I missed the single life that all my friends had and now I've just been throwing myself at work, I've worked harder than ever this year, as I said I've travelled like crazy, I've experienced everything I want to experience."