Grigor Dimitrov reserved special praise for Nicole Scherzinger after winning the ATP Finals against David Goffin on Sunday, although he seemed to forget that his girlfriend was live on national television at the time of his greatest triumph.
Dimitrov battled to a 7-5 4-6 6-3 victory against Goffin at the O2 Arena in London, while Scherzinger ran the rule over wannabe pop stars on UK talent show The X Factor.
While she may have missed the biggest win of her boyfriend's career to date, the former Pussycat Doll was credited as being a significant part of the Bulgarian's success.
"One person that, I don't know if she's in the hall or not, but she played a pretty important part, was my girlfriend Nicole. She's somewhere hiding," said Dimitrov.
"She deserves quite a bit of credit for these two weeks."
Dimitrov is the first debutant to win the Finals since Alex Corretja in 1998 and ends the tournament having won all five of his matches.
"I wish I could explain my emotions. It's been a tremendous two weeks for me. It's such an honour to play here," he added.
"This has been one of the best weeks I've ever had, without a doubt. It was just great to be out here and winning.
"David is such a tremendous guy, forget about his tennis. Congrats to him and his team for this amazing result, I think he's one of the most improved players throughout the past weeks and months. Unbelievable effort. I'm very proud to play against him in the final."
