'I was lucky against Grigor' - Jannik Sinner admits to almost losing to Dimitrov during their Wimbledon fourth round match

World No.1 Jannik Sinner added another trophy to his cabinet after prevailing at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships. However, the Italian appeared to have fortune on his side, after fourth round opponent Grigor Dimitrov retired mid-match due to injury.

Sinner had been in great form prior to his encounter with Dimitrov. The top seed breezed through his early round matches, and was the favorite to advance in his match against the Bulgarian.

Conversely, Dimitrov had shown flashes of his younger self as he battled his way through the first three rounds. The former World No.3 dropped just one set in three matches, but was not expected to defeat an in-form Sinner.

However, it was Dimitrov who looked to be in better form at the start of the match. The Haskovo native outplayed his higher-ranked opponent, and held a two sets to love lead when tragedy struck.

Dimitrov sustains devastating injury

With the Bulgarian leading by two sets and serving at 2-2 in the third, things seemed to take a turn for the worse. Dimitrov appeared to hurt himself as he served, prompting the nine-time ATP titlist to fall to his knees as he grasped his right side.

After a medical timeout, Dimitrov was forced to forfeit the match as he could no longer continue. Therefore, Sinner was granted a berth to the quarterfinals, despite trailing by two sets to a confident Dimitrov. The Italian would go on to win the title.

In his pre-tournament conference at the 2025 Cincinnati Open, Sinner would admit he was lucky to get past Dimitrov. The San Candido native is the defending champion at the event, and will be competing at his first tournament since winning Wimbledon.

"I was lucky against Grigor, but I took it as a sign," said Sinner. "You never know what can happen and that's how it is in tennis. So you have to try to understand why and how certain things happen.
"And after that match, I really raised my level of play, and I played some of the best tennis I could play. It was a very emotional moment for me, and I was able to celebrate with my team."