Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria gives the thumbs up after defeating Michael Llodra of France in their opening round match at the Paris Masters men's singles tennis tournament at the Palais Omnisports of Bercy in Paris, October 29, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Charle
Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria gives the thumbs up after defeating Michael Llodra of France in their opening round match at the Paris Masters men's singles tennis tournament at the Palais Omnisports of Bercy in Paris, October 29, 2013. Reuters/Charles Platiau Reuters

Bulgarian top-ranked athlete Grigor Dimitrov won his first-ever Mexican Open title on Saturday evening against South Africa's Kevin Anderson 7-6(1), 3-6, 7-6(5) in the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tennis tournament, but who was his inspiration?

Rumour about Grigor having relationship problems with girlfriend Maria Sharapova sparked after the Bulgarian was spotted with 19-year-old Canadian tennis athlete Eugenie Bouchard during a break from the tournament that he had won his recent title with. Grigor and Eugenie played a tennis exhibition on a floating court before splashing on the ocean. The two were also spotted together in a helicopter ride. Grigor regarded his little outing with Eugenie one of the best experiences he had during the tournament.

Everyone knows how it is when celebrities and sport personalities are spotted with another guy or girl other than the person they currently have a relationship. Some reports suggest that Grigor and Maria's relationship are on the rocks, but the Russian tennis darling was actually the first one to greet Grigor for his new title.

Sport Segodnya reported via Focus-Fen.net that Sharapova was the first one to greet Grigor right after he won in the Mexico Open. Later on, Sharapova wrote "Inspired" on Twitter. There's nothing like the feeling of being in love and being able to serve an inspiration to your partner. For Grigor and Maria, it's obviously hard to be with each other given their respective commitments. Even though they may be struggling to always spend time with each other, they apparently know how to inspire each other and show their love and support.

Grigor Dimitrov's First Mexican Title

Grigor's victory at the Abierto Mexicano Telcel tennis tournament is the best title that he had won up to date, Stevegtennis reported. It was reportedly the second title that the 22-year-old Bulgarian athlete has won on the Association of Tennis Professional (ATP) World Tour.

"Belief is the only thing that kept me going today," Grigor said.

"This title means a lot to me."

"Every match I played was really tough, especially the last three where I played three sets."

Grigor has leapt from number 22 in the ATP World Rankings to number 16. It can be remembered that retired tennis legend Pete Sampras recently said that he can envision Grigor rising up the rankings as high as in the top five before 2014 ends.

RELATED STORIES