Jannik Sinner qualifies for the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, where he will face Ben Shelton on Wednesday, who beat Lorenzo Sonego in the late afternoon . But for the world number 1, the passage of the round comes due to the retirement of his opponent, with the very unfortunate Grigor Dimitrov who is forced to abandon the match and the tournament in the third set, at 2-2, after the Bulgarian had won the first two 6-3 7-5.
Nightmare start for Sinner: Dimitrov wins the first game, the world number 1 loses serve for the first time in the tournament (2-0) and the Bulgarian also wins the next one. The Italian's reaction is only partial, he manages to get to a maximum of two points down before losing 6-3.
In the second set, down 3-2, Sinner is forced to take a medical time out due to a problem with his right elbow: after a few minutes he resumes playing but loses the game . He also goes down 5-3, but then he relaunches himself and gets the first break of his match, bringing the score to parity. Dimitrov, however, shows no signs of giving up and takes control of the set, closing it at 7-5.
At 2-2 in the third set, a sudden movement by Dimitrov causes him an injury, perhaps a muscle injury . Rescued by the medical staff, with Sinner himself present, after a few minutes of checks with the physiotherapist he leaves the court – with a lot of pain in his chest – and is forced to forfeit. «I hope he recovers quickly, he was very unlucky: I don't feel like a winner at all, it's a bad moment for all of us who saw it», the words of Sinner – visibly shaken – after the announcement of his opponent's withdrawal.