Jannik Sinner speaks out as Grigor Dimitrov suffers serious injury and retires two sets up

Jannik Sinner has said he doesn't count it "as a win" after Grigor Dimitrov was forced to retire injured during their Wimbledon fourth-round match. No. 19 seed Dimitrov has now retired mid-match at the last five Grand Slam tournaments. The Bulgarian took a 6-3 7-5 lead over the world No. 1 and was on course to cause a huge upset when he suddenly injured his pec in the third set.

Dimitrov had a game point at 1-2 and hit a serve, immediately grabbing his pectoral muscle. The ball went past a concerned Sinner and it went down as an ace, levelling the score at 2-2. But the 34-year-old dropped to the ground in paid, crying out as his opponent and the physio rushed over.

Dimitrov went back to his bench and had a lengthy conversation with the trainer but continued to shake his head, and his expression said it all. Sinner came over to his chair to listen in, and the Bulgarian left the court with the physio to attempt some form of treatment.

The Italian put his jacket on and started hitting some serves while waiting for his opponent in case they could resume play. But Dimitrov appeared moments later and officially retired from the match in tears as Sinner embraced him.

The world No. 1 had a mountain to climb and needed to win three sets to book his spot in the quarter-final. But he was given a lifeline when Dimitrov retired from Wimbledon for the second year running, and Sinner paid tribute to his injured opponent in a very brief on-court interview.

"I don't know what to say because he is an incredible player. I think we all saw this today, and he's been so unlucky in the past couple of years and incredible player, good friend of mine, also we understand each other very well off the court too," a dejected Sinner said.

"Seeing him in this position honestly, you know, if there would be a chance that he could play the next round, he would deserve [it]. But now mostly I hope he has a speedy recovery.

"Very, very unlucky from his side, I don't think of this as a win at all, this is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us and yeah, you know, I think already in the last Grand Slams he's struggled a lot with injuries and seeing him now again having this kind of injury, it's very very tough and we all saw this with his reaction, how much he cares about the sport.

"He's one of the most hard-working players on the tour, it's very unfortunate. Thank you for coming but this is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad. We all wishhim only the best, let's give an applause for him and his team."

After a rough time with injuries, Dimitrov sounded positive coming into his showdown with Sinner. After beating Sebastian Ofner in straight sets on Saturday, the former world No. 3 spoke of all the work he'd put in to get fit and healthy again.

"I'm here to play. As I said, I feel great. After three matches to be where I'm at physically, really gives me a good, yeah, positive and upbeat way to get out there and play my game," he said.

"I've put a lot of work prior to the tournament. I had to make some decisions that, you know, it put me in a very good spot, I think. Yeah, will it be an easy match? No. If you are asking me that, definitely not. I don't expect that either. But, yeah, I'm just looking forward to it. That's that. There's not much on that end."

Former world No.3 Dimitrov skipped media duties after the match, with an official Wimbledon statement reading: "Following on court treatment and after further medical advice, Grigor Dimitrov will not be undertaking any media commitments tonight."

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