Jannik Sinner qualifies for Wimbledon QFs after Grigor Dimitrov retires

Jannik Sinner had the rub of the green on his side as he qualified for the Wimbledon quarterfinals after Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire in the round of 16 on Centre Court on Monday. The Bulgarian dominated the first two sets against Sinner and was looking all set to advance to the next round before he suffered a right pectoral muscle injury. Eventually, Dimitrov called the match in tears after two hours.

Sinner, on the other hand, failed to find his A-game after he suffered an unfortunate fall when he slipped in the first set. The Italian also called a medical timeout while trailing by 3-2 at changeover in the second set. The World No.1 received medical attention on his elbow and he is all set to undergo an MRI.

“Honestly, I don’t know what to say,” said Sinner. “He is an incredible player, 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, 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.”

The Italian wished Dimitrov a speedy recovery after the Bulgarian was forced to retire.

“I hope he has a speedy recovery. It’s very unlucky from his side,” added Sinner. “I don’t take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us. I think already in the last Grand Slams he has struggled a lot with injuries and seeing him now again having this kind of injury is very, very tough. We all saw this with his reaction, how much he cares about the sport. He’s one of the most hardworking players on tour and it’s very unfortunate.”

Sinner will next face Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.