‘Unbelievable’: Teary scene rocks Wimbledon as No.1 bailed out by ultimate ‘heartbreak’

The Wimbledon hopes of Jannik Sinner remain alive, but only after the Italian champion progressed when beloved veteran Grigor Dimitrov suffered a serious injury while holding a dominant position over the world No.1 to end a dramatic day on Centre Court.

A day that began with Novak Djokovic edging Alex de Minaur in a high class affair, and saw Mirra Andreeva become the youngest quarterfinalist since Maria Sharapova in 2005, ended with Dimitrov sobbing on court to the shock of the crowd.

Eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, to whom Dimitrov has so frequently been likened to given the style with which he plays, was among the fans who appeared shattered as the Bulgarian was forced to withdraw while leading 6-3 7-5 2-all.

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Sinner, who was outpointed by the rejuvenated Dimitrov for the first two sets and required treatment for his own elbow problem, was quick to race to the other end of the court after the 34-year-old collapsed in pain after serving an ace.

A point prior the former Wimbledon semi-finalist had reached for his arm and did look to be in some discomfort, but he was able to thunder an ace to close out the service game. But it was apparent immediately he was in serious trouble to the dismay of his team.

After being assessed on court, Dimitrov retreated to a private room for an assessment but soon returned to the court in tears as the dual-Australian Open champion Sinner moved to comfort him.

Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov reacts after he was forced to retire. Source: AP

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 07: Jannik Sinner checks on Grigor Dimitrov. Source: Getty Images

Dimitrov gets treatment after he went down with an injury. Source: AP

After limply shaking hands with the umpire, the No.19 seed buried his head in a towel and sobbed as Federer looked on aghast.

Wimbledon officials later said that Dimitrov, after undergoing further medical assessment, had been advised against completing press duties given the extent of the injury.

Sinner assisted his rival, who has endured a shocking run with injury in recent years, from the court before returning to touch on the misfortune that had just unfolded on the world’s most famous court.

“I don’t know what to say. He is an incredible player. We all saw this today. He has been so unlucky (over) the past couple of years and he is an incredible player and a good friend of mine, also,” he said.

“Seeing him in this position, if there would be a chance he could play the next round, he would deserve to. It is very, very unlucky from his side. I don’t take this as a win at all.

“It is a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us. In the last grand slams, he has struggled a lot with injury, and seeing him having this sort of injury, it is very tough. He is one of the most hard-working players in tennis. It is not the end we wanted to see. It is very sad.”

By virtue of the withdrawal, Sinner will play American star Ben Shelton in the quarterfinal after the big-serving left-hander edged Lorenzo Sonego 3-6 6-1 7-6 (1) 7-5. But the Italian did have concerns with his elbow and was struggling to stay in touch with Dimitrov.

Shelton, who is the youngest American man to reach the last eight at Wimbledon since Andy Roddick in 2004, said that the most recent US man to win a grand slam had been a source of inspiration to him.

“I wasn’t really playing tennis yet when he was still playing. Obviously (I’ve) seen a ton of tape now. He had a nuke, a bigger serve than me,” he said.

“He could run all day. He was a grinder, just a physical beast (and he is) someone that I’ve looked up to for inspiration. (He is) someone who’s been there along the way, sending some messages, giving some advice. Not always directly, but my dad or through Dean Goldfine, who was coaching me when I first came on tour.

“It’s kind of just been a great resource as another American who did a lot of the things that I’d like to do in this sport and did them at a really young age. (It) seems like everything that I’ve done, it’s the first to be done since him. He’s got me beat pretty much in every category (but) it’s pretty cool to be mentioned in the same sentence as him. I definitely look up to him and think very highly of him.”

In the other quarterfinal, Djokovic will play Italian Flavio Cobolli after the 22nd seed ended the resurgent run of 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic 64- 6-4 6-7 (4) 7-6 (3).

Cobolli was beaten by de Minaur in a practice set on the eve of Wimbledon and also hit with another Australian, Daria Kasatkina, on the way to a career breakthrough at a grand slam. But Djokovic is wary of his talent and power.

“He’s a very talented player (and) one of the youngsters coming up. He’s one of those players that he’s young and new names coming up that we are probably going to see quite a bit in the future,” Djokovic said.

“I must say that (I’m) pleasantly surprised with his results on grass because he doesn’t strike me as a grass court specialist with his game, but he reached the quarterfinals.

“He’s beaten Cilic and some big servers and big players that are grass court specialists, so to say. So huge credit to him. He’s a big fighter. We get along well. We practice whenever we can. We just had a hug. We embraced each other (when) we saw each other on the terrace.”

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