'Pain-free' Grigor Dimitrov ready for Jannik Sinner clash following retirement nightmare

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'Pain-free' Dimitrov ready for Sinner clash following retirement nightmare

Bulgarian is into the fourth round at Wimbledon for the fifth time

Corinne Dubreuil/ATP Tour Grigor Dimitrov opens up on his recent injury struggles, which have forced him to retire at the past four majors. By Sam Jacot

“We’re in the second week of Wimbledon. Let’s have fun.”

Grigor Dimitrov delivered the words with a smile and a shrug, the kind of casual confidence that only comes after weathering storms. It was Saturday afternoon at the All England Club and the 34-year-old was speaking to a small circle of reporters, relaxed, reflective and very much still in the tournament.

Just an hour earlier, the 34-year-old had sealed his place in the second week at Wimbledon with a commanding straight-sets win against Sebastian Ofner, finishing the job with an ace on No. 3 Court. For the third year in a row, he’s among the last 16 at the grass-court major, but this time, the moment carries a different weight. This run feels earned in a way that goes beyond forehands and footwork.

The past twelve months have tested Dimitrov to the limit. Last year, his Wimbledon campaign ended abruptly with a retirement against Daniil Medvedev in the fourth round. At the US Open, he surged into the quarter-finals, only to be halted mid-match by injury once again, this time against Frances Tiafoe.

The trend continued into 2025, with first-round retirements at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, marking a grim milestone: four consecutive Grand Slam retirements.

“I think that's why you have everybody around you, all your team, to keep you honest with whatever is going on with your body,” Dimitrov said when asked on how he has coped with his recent struggles. “The amount of scans and MRIs and X-rays, whatever that I've done throughout this amount of time, it confirms where you're at, but ultimately you're the one that gets to that point of thinking or not thinking.

“Some days it's inevitable [that you think about the injury issues] just because you wake up and you feel something. But this is also a place where I'm entering in my career that I have to accept the fact that there's going to be something every single day. So I live with it, and I'm okay with it. As long as I've gone to work, match, tennis tournament, or whatever it is, and I've done 100 per cent of myself, then I've done my duty.”

Dimitrov touched down in London five weeks ago to train and importantly, recover. Fresh off a frustrating retirement at Roland Garros, the Bulgarian set up camp in the capital for rehab, trading court time for careful recovery. A leg injury, lingering for the better part of nine months, had demanded a new approach of fewer practice sessions, more rest and a strict focus on injury prevention.

So far, the strategy has paid off. Dimitrov has looked sharp and composed on the lawns of SW19, dropping just one set en route to the fourth round.

“At the moment I feel great. I’m pain-free,” Dimitrov said with optimism. “I’ve done quite a sufficient amount of work before the tournament began. Overall, every day has been positive. I feel like I’m building off that, which makes me not only happy but excited for what’s to come.”

That excitement shows. After three matches, he’s moving freely and striking the ball cleanly. A far cry from the physical uncertainty that’s overshadowed much of his past year.

“All I want is to put myself in those type of positions,” Dimitrov added. “To get out there and play against these guys right now. This is in a way the most important thing for me.”

But the challenge gets steeper from here. On Monday, Dimitrov will face the ultimate test when he meets the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner, who’s been near untouchable so far. The Italian has dopped just 17 games in three rounds, tying the Open Era record for fewest games dropped en route to the fourth round at Wimbledon.

Sinner has spent the past 56 weeks atop the PIF ATP Rankings and has won two of the past three majors.

“He's been the best player in the world, especially over the course of the last year and a half, two [years],” Dimitrov said on Sinner. “You can appreciate his consistency, I would say, and the way he is able to execute without a single doubt in his game.”

The numbers favour Sinner, who leads former World No. 3 Dimitrov 4-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. But this will be their first meeting on grass, a surface where Dimitrov, a semi-finalist here in 2014, has always felt at home. Could it level the playing field?

“The grass is very different right now. If you would have asked me a couple of years ago, maybe it was a bit faster and I would think yeah,” Dimitrov said. “At the moment, everybody is playing good on grass, and the grass evens out the game a little bit. I would say this year especially.

“I know what I want to do out there. It's more of the excitement of checking out my capabilities and the work that I've put in, the plays that I've tried, the hours that I spent on the court.”

In a tournament already full of upsets, Dimitrov will be aiming to deliver the most dramatic one yet when he walks onto Centre Court around 6 p.m. BST. But whatever happens, the former World No. 3 is clear-eyed about what matters most.

“I'm very positive at the stage where I'm at,” Dimitrov concluded. “Physically is probably the number one thing that I really need the most, and it's there right now. The rest is having fun.”

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