LONDON: A dramatic night has unfolded at Wimbledon after Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire due to an injury he picked up whilst leading world No.1 Jannik Sinner 6-3, 7-5, 2-2.
Dimitrov produced inspired tennis to get into a position of claiming his first win over a No.1 player since the 2013 Madrid Masters. It was just over two hours into the match when disaster struck for the Bulgarian. Serving against the Italian, he dropped to the ground holding his pec. Prompting both Sinner and the medical team to come and assist him.
“It’s my pec, it’s my pec,” he said to Sinner.
Dimitrov left the court for treatement but had no choice but to call it quits.
It is a cruel twist for Dimitrov, who has worked hard to get back into physical shape following various setbacks. It is the fifth Grand Slam in a row where his campaign has ended by some form of injury.
“I don’t know what to say, he is an incredible player, we all saw this today. He’s been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player and a good friend of mine off the court,” Sinner said of Dimitrov.
“If he could play in the next round, he would honestly deserve it. I hope he has a speedy recovery, very unlucky from his side and a very unfortunate moment for us to witness.
“In the last Grand Slams, he struggled with injuries, seeing him with this is very tough, his reaction, how much he cares about the sport, he’s one of the hardest working on tour. It’s very sad.”
Before retiring, Dimitrov was leading the top seed in terms of first service points won, second service points won and winners. Overall, he had won 14 more points than Sinner.
Sinner can breathe a massive sigh of relief after narrowly avoiding becoming the first top seed to reach the last eight of the men’s draw at Wimbledon since 2016. He was also nursing an ailment of some sort after having a medical timeout during the second set for treatment on his right elbow. Then, during the third set, shortly before Dimitrov’s retirement, he was seen shaking it out after landing on it.
“I don’t take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness,” he said.
Sinner will next play Ben Shelton.
