No. 1 Janik Sinner advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals Monday after his opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, retired injured while he was leading their fourth-round match two sets to love.
Dimitrov, the 19th seed in the men’s singles bracket, won the first two sets 6-3, 7-5. Dimitrov and Sinner were then tied 2-2 in the third before Dimitrov exited the match after he experienced pain in the right side of his body.
“I don’t take this as a win at all; this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness,” Sinner said in an on-court interview. Dimitrov “has struggled in Grand Slams with injuries a lot ,so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. We all saw by his reaction how much he cares about the sport, and he is one of the hardest-working players on tour.”
Injuries have been an issue for Dimitrov, particularly in Grand Slam tournaments. He has had to retire from his last four Grand Slam appearances before Monday, including in the fourth round of Wimbledon last year against Daniil Medvedev.
Dimitrov, 34, has not advanced past the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam since the U.S. Open in 2019. His best finish at Wimbledon came in 2014, when he made it to the semifinals and lost to Novak Djokovic.
Dimitrov was playing well Monday, hitting more aces and winners and winning 79 points, compared with Sinner’s 65.
“Thank you for coming, but this is not the end we wanted to see, and it’s very sad,” Sinner said. “We all wish [Dimitrov] only the best. Let’s give an applause for him and his team.”
Sinner, 23, is the top-ranked men’s player in the world.
After he won last year’s U.S. Open, Sinner won the Australian Open in January. He also appeared in the French Open final in June, losing in five sets to Carlos Alcaraz after having won the first two sets.
Sinner has never won Wimbledon. His best finish was in 2023, when he made it to the semifinals.
He will play American Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
