“Tennis is tennis, and we’re all living our dream right now.” This is what Grigor Dimitrov had to say right after making his way to the Miami Open final, playing some of the best tennis of his career. And the best part?

He had one of his best friends in the stands, one he made along the way as he was living his dream: Serena Williams. And he is living the dream.

Hubert Hurkacz, Carlos Alcaraz, and now Alexander Zverev. Dimitrov has been on a scintillating run in the Sunshine State, one that’ll see him compete in his third Masters 1000 final. And before the former World No.3 takes on the current World No.3, Jannik Sinner, he opened up about the significance of having an American tennis icon in his corner.

During the post-match press conference, the Bulgarian was asked, “Can you talk about the meaning of having [Serena] here, supporting you?” He replied, “Yeah, she’s amazing. We stay in touch. We nearly speak on a daily basis. She was like, ‘I’m going to come watch.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’” But she didn’t just come to support him during the match. Dimitrov admitted to receiving a pep talk from the 23-time Grand Slam champion.

“It’s always very humbling to have such a supporter in your corner. Just before the match, she came, and we had a little chat,” he said. In an interview with Tennis Channel, he talked about this pep talk, revealing, “She came through. She was like, ‘I don’t want to distract you, but I gotta tell you something.’ It was just like this one sentence. She always knows what to tell me in any given moment. My friendship with her means so much to me.” He elaborated on this during the press conference.

“I remember she was even here when I had my first top 10 win. It’s friendship, man. This is the best part. Tennis is tennis, and we’re all living our dream right now.” Tennis is a mentally draining sport. And sometimes, it’s just liberating to have someone to talk to about it. That’s precisely what Serena Williams is to Grigor Dimitrov. “To be able to lean on and share thoughts, ideas, and sometimes to even vent to someone who actually played tennis… it helps a lot,” explained the Bulgarian.

And it did help him. After Williams said he didn’t want to distract Dimitrov, he told the Tennis Channel, “I was like, ‘You didn’t distract me. You helped me.’ Those are the moments that keep me going.” Since announcing her retirement from tennis, Serena Williams has embraced the pleasure of being a fan of the sport. That brings up another time when she showed her support for the Bulgarian. And it connects to rumors about them having dated.

Serena Williams and Grigor Dimitrov’s relationship rumors

Earlier this year, the former World No.3 defeated Holger Rune to win the 2024 Brisbane International. In light of this, Serena took to X to congratulate her friend. However, there was one word in that congratulatory message that almost everyone was hyper-focused on. She wrote, “So happy for my brother.” For those unaware, Serena Williams and Grigor Dimitrov were rumored to be dating each other in 2013.

The rumors started as a result of the two professionals frequently practicing alongside each other. However, neither of them ever confirmed the speculations. Rumors suggest that the two had split after the 2013 Roland Garros. Williams had an extended stay in Paris following that. Speaking about the reasoning behind it, she said, “I had a bad breakup, and I just didn’t want to be in the same country as the guy.”