The last match the Round of 16 on the men’s side of the Wimbledon draw ended in heartbreaking fashion on Monday.

After rolling through two sets of stunning tennis to take a 6–3, 7–5 lead over World No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire from the match when he sustained what appeared to be a pectoral injury.

It was a brutally slow moment of realization throughout the arena when the injury took place. Dimitrov could clearly tell something was more than a little off, and after being treated courtside and then briefly in the locker room, he came back out onto the court to shake hands with Sinner, conceding the match.

In a moment of class from his opponent and the Wimbledon crowd, fans in the stands offered Dimitrov a massive ovation as Sinner helped him to pack his bags and head back into the locker room. Sinner signaled to the reporter on the court that he would come back out for an interview once he had helped Dimitrov.

When Sinner took the mic, he was clearly in an awkward spot. He was now through to the quarterfinals of the tournament, despite failing to win a set in his Round of 16 match. No one in the world is doubting the player that Sinner is, but it was clear that at least through the opening leg of the match, it was Dimitrov’s day.

But Sinner handled his post-match comments with exceptional grace.

“I don’t know what to say. He is an incredible player. I think we all saw this today. He’s been so unlucky in the past couple of years,” Sinner said. “Seeing him in this position, honestly, if there would be a chance that he could play in the next round, he would deserve it. Now mostly I hope he has a speedy recovery. Very unlucky from his side. I don’t take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.

“We all saw with his reaction how much he cares about the sport. He’s one of the most hardworking players on tour. It’s very unfortunate. Thank you for coming, but this is not the end we wanted to see. It is very sad, we all wish him only the best. Let’s give an applause for him and his team.”

For Dimitrov, it was the fifth straight Grand Slam appearance that has ended not with a true loss, but rather a retirement. Having it happen again, and while he was on the precipice of what could have been such a huge win, made it especially devastating.

Sinner advances to face Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals, with the match set to be played on Wednesday.

More Wimbledon on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Jannik Sinner Brilliantly Handled Tough Interview After Advancing at Wimbledon Due to Opponent’s Injury.

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