Jannik Sinner reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals in bizarre fashion as Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire despite holding a two-set lead against the world number one on Monday.
Sinner had been battling an injury to his right elbow and was trailing 3-6, 5-7, 2-2 on Centre Court when Dimitrov injured himself serving an ace.
The Bulgarian collapsed onto the court holding his pectoral muscle and shouted out in pain as Sinner rushed to his aid.
Dimitrov received medical treatment and walked off court before returning to tell Sinner he was pulling out, with the Italian wrapping him in a hug as the Bulgarian wiped away tears.
Dimitrov, 34, has been hampered by injuries for much of the latter stages of his career, also retiring from Wimbledon in the fourth round against Daniil Medvedev last year.
Honestly, I don’t know what to say, because he is an incredible player, said Sinner.
I think we all saw this today. He’s been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player, a good friend of mine also, and we understand each other very well off the court too.
Seeing him in this position, honestly, if there would be a chance that he could play the next round, he would deserve it. But now, mostly, I hope he has a speedy recovery.
From the brink of a potential shock exit, Sinner will now face American 10th seed Ben Shelton in the last eight, assuming the three-time Grand Slam champion can recover from his own fitness issue.
Sinner has never reached the Wimbledon final, going as far as the semi-finals in 2023.
He has played in the last three Grand Slam finals, taking the title at the US and Australian Opens and losing the French Open showpiece in a five-set epic against Carlos Alcaraz in June.
AFP
