Tennis
THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, LONDON — World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was on the precipice of a fourth-round exit from Wimbledon when he ended up on the receiving end of the absolute worst kind of good luck in sports.
Sinner fell and appeared to injure his elbow in the first game of his match against Grigor Dimitrov. Then he lost the first two sets, as Dimitrov put on a sizzling performance of aces, net rushes and all-out attack in the face of a player who has been untouchable this first week in London. A lightning storm was brewing, ready to remind a tennis world accustomed to the Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz duopoly that this sport still has its vicissitudes.
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But early in the third set, with the match on serve, Dimitrov hit an ace and seemed to seriously injure his right pectoral muscle. He collapsed on the court, and grabbed his chest. Sinner made his way around the net and knelt next to his close friend, then helped him to his chair. He even sat with him as a trainer evaluated Dimitrov, something tennis players rarely do, because they might gain a competitive advantage.
“I don’t know what to say, he is an incredible player,” a visibly shaken Sinner said, after Dimitrov came back from some brief off-court treatment and said he could not continue.
“He’s been so unlucky in the past. Seeing him in this position, if there were a chance he could play in the next round, he would deserve it. I don’t take this as a win at all, this is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.”
Sinner emerged unscathed from what would have been a shock result in a tournament that has been filled with them from day one. This one would have been different to all the others.
Sinner had been nothing short of lethal in his first three matches, conceding just 17 games, a record for a man entering the fourth round. He had been both clinical and merciless, keeping his serves inches from the lines, conceding next to nothing in return games, and slamming winner after winner past his opponents. More than any other year in his young career, he appears to have picked the lock of grass-court tennis, mastering the subtle movement and footwork needed to succeed.
Then came the early fall and elbow issue and a relentless Dimitrov, slicing and charging about the court like the player who once encouraged predictions of all-time greatness. He has shown that in fits and spurts before, but for a fifth consecutive Grand Slam his body abandoned him, forcing him to retire practically out of nowhere.
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Dimitrov served faster than he has all tournament. He played more net points in two sets and one game than he had in his two completed three-set matches previously. He overwhelmed Sinner in one set and then did it again, before faltering up 5-4. No matter. He broke Sinner in the next game, with a slice return that bit his ankles. Then he went up two sets and the roof closed.
Lightning was ready to strike, and then it did. Just not where anyone expected.
A little more than an hour later, Sinner still seemed shaken in his post-match news conference.
“He was playing incredible tennis for two sets,” he said.
Sinner said he felt his own injury through the match on his serve and forehand and said he planned to get a scan Tuesday to assess its severity. After the match, he saw Dimitrov in the player area but kept his distance, knowing the pain his friend was in.
His next match against Ben Shelton, the No. 10 seed, appeared to be an afterthought.
“It’s going to be a problem in two days,” he said. “Now I have to focus on other stuff first.”
Matthew Futterman is an award-winning veteran sports journalist and the author of two books, “Running to the Edge: A Band of Misfits and the Guru Who Unlocked the Secrets of Speed” and “Players: How Sports Became a Business.”Before coming to The Athletic in 2023, he worked for The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Star-Ledger of New Jersey and The Philadelphia Inquirer. He is currently writing a book about tennis, “The Cruelest Game: Agony, Ecstasy and Near Death Experiences on the Pro Tennis Tour,” to be published by Doubleday in 2026. Follow Matthew on Twitter @mattfutterman
Grigor Dimitrov forced to retire hurt one set from beating Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon – The New York Times
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