Andy Murray slams Wimbledon decision as Jannik Sinner vs Grigor Dimitrov match abandoned

Andy Murray slammed Wimbledonchiefs over their decision to close the roof during No.1 seed Jannik Sinner’s last 16 meeting with Grigor Dimitrov on Monday night - shortly before the Bulgarian had to abandon the match due to injury.

Sinner had just fallen two sets down on Centre Court when, just before 830pm, the decision was made to close the roof. Duly, that meant a break in play and an end to Dimitrov’s momentum. The delay lasted 13 minutes.

And the decision to suspend the match and close the roof left Murray unhappy, with the two-time Wimbledon champion calling the decision “ridiculous”.

On social media, he said: “So ridiculous to close the roof at this stage of the match. At least an hour of light left….well over a set of tennis can still be played..its an outdoor tournament!”

In stark contrast to Murray, Tim Henman, speaking on BBC Two during commentary, felt closing the roof was a good thing.

READ MORE: Tim Henman hits out at Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper over major Wimbledon controversy

READ MORE: Major Wimbledon row as 12 players given FINES - but champion challenges ‘procedural failures’

"I always felt the players sweat more, and there is a little bit less air flow," said the former British No.1. "It is absolutely ideal conditions, there is little wind with the roof open and none now."

Another former British No.1, Greg Rusedski, also had his say on the decision, believing that the move favoured the Italian - who until that point had been far from his best. He admitted: "If I was Grigor Dimitrov, I would say to keep playing. These conditions are working brilliantly for him.

"When you close the roof, you do have perfect conditions and light but that is going to help Jannik Sinner because it is going to slow down the pace of play and his toss will be in the right place on top of that.

"So if I was Dimitrov, I would've said keep the roof open and let's try to play one more set even with the bad light. This actually favours Sinner."

Just twenty minutes later, with the match 2-2 in the third set, Dimitrov hit the floor in agony and could be seen saying "my pec, my pec". The match had to be suspended again with the Bulgarian suffering from a serious pectoral injury - caused by Dimitrov serving an ace.

Sinner twice checked on his opponent while medics discussed with Dimitrov, who headed down the tunnel for a medical timeout - before it was confirmed the match was over and Dimitrov's race was run due to injury, his retirement handing Sinner a quarter-final spot.

Former British No.1 Greg Rusedski, speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, said: "Dimitrov is playing the tennis of his life. We didn't see this coming whatsoever. This is not the way we want this match to end. He is holding his pectoral muscle which is a chest muscle, so let's hope he can find a solution because we don't want to see this happen right now."

Sinner, speaking courtside post-match, said: "I don't know what to say. He is an incredible player and we all saw this today.

"He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He is an incredible player who is a good friend of mine. We understand each other very well off the court. Seeing him in this position - if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. I hope he has a speedy recovery.

"I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness.

"He 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.

"Thank you for coming, but this is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad. We all wish him only the best - let's give an applause for him and his team."