Grigor Dimitrov

Grigor Dimitrov Dimitrov (Bulgarian: Григор Димитров Димитров, ; born 16 May 1991) is a Bulgarian professional tennis player.

Grigor Dimitrov was born in Haskovo to father Dimitar, a tennis coach, and mother Maria, a sports teacher and former volleyball player, in 1991.

He first held a tennis racket, given to him by his mother, at the age of three, and when he was five he began to play daily.

In his early years his father served as his coach, but after he proved his talent in the tournaments for juniors, he made it clear that he would have to develop in other conditions.

At the age of 16, Dimitrov turned professional.

In 2006, he won the Orange Bowl U16 boys singles and was later named the Eddie Herr International 2007 Rising Star.

In 2007, Dimitrov joined the academy "Sanchez-Casal", where he was further trained under the leadership of Emilio Sánchez and Pato Álvarez.

In 2007, Dimitrov was the finalist at the Orange Bowl U18 boys singles losing to Ričardas Berankis of Lithuania.

With Vasek Pospisil, he reached the US Open doubles final falling to Jonathan Eysseric and Jérôme Inzerillo.

Prior to his professional career, Dimitrov enjoyed a successful junior career, in which he reached the world No. 1 ranking and won consecutive major boys' singles titles at the 2008 Wimbledon Championships and the 2008 US Open.

He began the 2008 Grand Slam season with a quarterfinal showing at the French Open, losing to Poland's Jerzy Janowicz in three sets.

However he went on to win Wimbledon after defeating Henri Kontinen of Finland in the final.

He won the title without dropping a set despite playing with a shoulder injury throughout the tournament.

On 8 September 2008, he became junior world No. 1 overtaking Yang Tsung-hua.

He closed at No. 3 of the junior ranking that year.

Dimitrov compiled a singles win–loss record of 74–28 as a junior (and 42–20 in doubles).

Junior Grand Slam results – Singles:

Australian Open: A (-)

Since March 2009 Dimitrov trained in Paris, France, where he joined Patrick Mouratoglou's Tennis Academy and spent the next four seasons there and he appointed Patrick Moratoglou as coach for 2012.

The victory saw him join former junior champions Roger Federer and Stefan Edberg and guaranteed him a wildcard entry into the 2009 Wimbledon men's draw.

His success continued at the US Open, which he won on 7 September, defeating American qualifier Devin Britton in two sets.

On his way to the title he also defeated top seed Yang Tsung-hua of Taiwan in the semifinals.

After the tournament Dimitrov announced that he was ending his junior career and focusing on improving his ATP ranking.

Dimitrov is the first (and only) Bulgarian male tennis player to reach a final in doubles (in 2011), and to reach the fourth round or better at a major in singles.

Dimitrov began dating Maria Sharapova in late 2012.

In October 2013 at the Stockholm Open, Dimitrov became the first Bulgarian man to win an ATP Tour singles title.

As of the 2024 Australian Open, he is the male player with the longest active streak of consecutive Grand Slam appearances, at 52.

He and Sharapova only confirmed their relationship after the 2013 Madrid Open where the Bulgarian managed his first win against a world No. 1, beating Novak Djokovic.

He won the Bulgarian Sportsperson of the Year award in 2014 and 2017, the first and second time a tennis player has won the award since its creation in 1958, and the Balkan Athlete of the Year award in 2017.

Sharapova and Dimitrov separated in July 2015.

At the end of 2015, he started discreetly dating American singer Nicole Scherzinger, the lead vocalist of The Pussycat Dolls.

He has been ranked as high as world No. 3 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), which he first achieved on 20 November 2017, making him the highest-ranked Bulgarian player in history.

Dimitrov achieved the ranking after winning the biggest title of his career at the season-ending ATP Finals.

He has won nine ATP Tour singles titles to date.

Dimitrov is the first Bulgarian to qualify for the ATP Finals, which he won in 2017, and to win a Masters title the same year in Cincinnati.

Dimitrov has also won more prize money than any other Bulgarian tennis player, being the only male Bulgarian player to reach US$1m and on 6 November 2023 became the 19th male tennis player ever to win $25m.

Their romantic relationship ended in 2019.

In addition to his native Bulgarian, he speaks English and says his main interests are sports, cars, computers and watches.

Early in his career he was given the nickname "Baby Fed" for his stylish play and on-court talent being similar to that of Roger Federer.

He claimed his first major junior cup, the U14 European title, at the age of 14.