Devastated Dimitrov retires injured while leading Sinner

Motivational

22 Jul, 2025

Steven Cook

'This doesn't feel like a win at all' - Sinner through after Dimitrov retires hurt

Dates:30 June-13 JulyVenue:All England Club

Coverage:Live across BBC TV, radio and online with extensive coverage on BBC iPlayer, Red Button, Connected TVs and mobile app.Full coverage guide.

A devastated Grigor Dimitrov departed Wimbledon in tears after being forced to retire injured when two sets up on world number one Jannik Sinner.

Bulgaria's Dimitrov led an enthralling contest 6-3 7-5 2-2 when he fell to the grass holding his right pectoral after serving an ace.

He appeared to be in serious discomfort following the incident and Sinner immediately rushed over to help.

Dimitrov received medical treatment after returning to his chair and then briefly left court, before returning in tears to shake Sinner's hand.

He left Centre Court to a standing ovation but was barely able to lift his right arm to wave in appreciation, with Sinner accompanying him off court.

It is the latest in a string of injury struggles for the 34-year-old, who retired injured from his first-round matches at the Australian Open and French Open.

It means Italian top seed Sinner is into the quarter-finals at SW19 for a second time - but the three-time major winner said afterwards it was "not the way we wanted it to end".

In a cruel twist of irony, Sinner had also taken a medical timeout midway through the second set for an apparent elbow injury.

He had looked uncomfortable following a fall in the opening game but seemed to be rediscovering some sharpness when Dimitrov's injury occurred.

Sinner will have an MRI on Tuesday to assess the seriousness of the elbow problem.

"It was an unfortunate fall - I checked the video and it didn't seem a tough one, but I still felt it a lot during serve and forehands especially," he told a news conference.

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The latter stages of Dimitrov's career have been plagued by injury.

No player has been forced to retire injured from ATP Tour matches more often than Dimitrov since the start of the 2020 season. He has now quit 12 matches in that time.

Remarkably, this Wimbledon exit means he has retired injured on each of his past five Grand Slam appearances, including at this year's French and Australian Opens.

It is an unfortunate run for the man once nicknamed 'baby Fed' because of the similarity of his game to eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, who watched on from the Royal Box on Monday.

Dimitrov, a Wimbledon semi-finalist 11 years ago, was emotional from the moment he felt the injury and did not do a news conference afterwards as he had it assessed.

Sinner started the match as the heavy favourite after a week of serene progress.

The 23-year-old had dropped just 17 games and spent only five hours and 23 minutes on court – less time than the entirety of his epic French Open final against Carlos Alcaraz – on his way to reaching the fourth round.

But it was a different story against the experienced Dimitrov - the first seeded player Sinner has come up against so far.

Dimitrov was alert, adaptable and quick, returning everything Sinner threw at him in a dominant display, and a break of serve at the first opportunity stunned a crowd expecting to watch another demolition job.

It proved to be decisive in the opener as Dimitrov produced a magnificent serving display, saving the sole break point he faced before closing out the first set.

Sinner looked nervy and, with Dimitrov going an immediate break up in the second set, struggled to find any momentum to get back into the contest.

Sinner rushed over to check on his friend Dimitrov after the incident

Sinner called for a medical timeout midway through the second set and was in visible discomfort with his elbow. However, he recovered well enough to break back as Dimitrov served for the set at 5-4 up.

That was quickly forgotten when Dimitrov broke again, then hung in a tough service game to hand Sinner the exhausting task of overturning a two-set deficit - something he does not have a strong track record in.

A 10-minute break to close the Centre Court roof followed as the light faded with Dimitrov in the driving seat and playing some of his best tennis in years.

He served an impressive 14 aces in the match and it was that effort which perhaps proved to be his downfall as he sat down clutching his pectoral muscle having sent one down to hold at 2-2 in set three.

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