Sinner fortunate to reach quarter-finals as Dimitrov retires injured leading by two sets
The world No 1 was trailing two sets to love – 6-3, 7-5, 2-2 – against an inspired Grigor Dimitrov, with a mountain to climb, when the Bulgarian hit an ace and then instantly fell to the ground clutching his pectoral muscle. He knew, there and then, that his Wimbledon was over and after a brief medical timeout, off the court, he returned in tears, before shaking Sinner's hand.
The Italian goes through to a quarter-final against Ben Shelton, the big-serving American who advanced to the last eight at Wimbledon for the first time with an entertaining four‑set win against Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. It was not, of course, the way Sinner wanted to go through, but he lives on and maybe now he will believe the tennis gods are on his side.
'I don't take this as a win at all, this is just an unfortunate moment for us to witness,' the world No 1 said. 'He has struggled in grand slams with injuries a lot so seeing him again with this injury is very tough. We all saw by his reaction how much he cares about the sport and he is one of the hardest working players on tour. This is not the end we wanted to see and it's very sad. Seeing him in this position – if there was a chance for him to be in the next round he would deserve it. I hope he has a speedy recovery.'
It was brutal on Dimitrov, who had hit 36 winners, controlling the match in every way, but the incident means he has now pulled out through injury in each of the past five grand slam tournaments.
Ironically, it was Sinner who seemed to be struggling physically early in the match, rubbing his right elbow at times and later, early in the second set, taking a time‑out of his own. The 34-year-old Dimitrov was playing the tennis of his life at that point, dominating Sinner with brilliant serving – he lost just eight points on first serve in the entire match – beautiful slices, that took the Italian out of his comfort zone on arguably his worst surface.
Dimitrov had been to the quarter‑finals only once before, in 2014, the year he beat Andy Murray on the way to the last four. But for two and a bit sets, he was right at his very best. Some of his volleys were Roger Federer-like and even the great man, watching in the royal box, approved. Dimitrov has always had an abundance of talent, more options than most players, so many choices at his hand, and Sinner was forced into a series of uncharacteristic errors.
The Bulgarian broke in the second game on his way to a 3-0 lead in the first set and maintained the lead to take the set. Another early break put him in charge in the second but Sinner looked to have turned it around when he broke back for 5-5. Dimitrov broke again to move ahead and served out to double his lead.
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The roof was closed at the end of the second set, something Sinner would have been happy with, taking away the wind that had made life difficult. At 2-2, the drama happened. Dimitrov began the game serving and volleying, as he had done many times before, and hit his 14th ace, only to fall to the court immediately, clutching his right pectoral muscle. The pain was clear for everyone to see. Sinner came straight to his aid but it was obvious, even then, that nothing could be done. When he returned, Dimitrov was in tears and had to be helped from the court.
Shelton will present a big challenge too after coming through another hugely entertaining clash with Sonego. The pair produced magic, as they always do and, as has usually been the case, it was Shelton who came out on top to reach the quarter-finals here for the first time.
The left-handed Shelton, who has made the semi-finals of the US Open and Australian Open, served rockets, carved angles and slashed winners all over the place as he claimed a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5 victory. It is 25 years since an American man – Pete Sampras – last won the title here, and the way Shelton plays makes him a threat.
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BBC News
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If she were still alive, Sylvia Gore would no doubt have looked on proudly when England and Wales face each other at Euro in football for over 60 years, Gore has been described as a pioneer and a champion of the game and referred to as the 'Denis Law of women's football'.Gore scored the first official goal for England 's women's side in 1972, who were a far cry from the current Lionesses, the reigning European champions and World Cup Gore also made a significant contribution to the development of the women's game in Wales, managing the national side for over 10 was a big part of Gore's life from an early in Prescot on Merseyside, Gore remembered how she began kicking a ball as a three-year-old and on starting school would practise with the boys, but was not allowed to play in games. She started playing for Manchester Corinthians aged 12 in the late 1950s, travelling overseas, where the team played in front of big played at the time when the women's game was prohibited by the Football Association, with a ban in place since Football Association (FA) reasoning was that football was "quite unsuitable for females" and should "not be encouraged".The FA lifted its 50-year ban in 1971 and a year later the first official England women's side would play their first game."There were over 500 players that came to trials and it was whittled down to 25 in the end," Gore recalled in a 2015 interview for the BBC's Sporting Witness."I think I went to four trials and it was a tremendous feeling to get a letter to say you were in the England squad after all those trials."England's first match against Scotland in November 1972 – 100 years since the first men's international between the countries – was played at Greenock's Ravenscraig Stadium. "The crowd was about 400-500 if I remember rightly, which we thought was a good crowd then," Gore said."The conditions were terrible. It was hard ground – frosty, icy."[It] shouldn't have gone ahead but obviously because we had travelled so far and the Scots wanted to play it... We wanted to play it because it was the first official international for the FA."We were two goals down at half-time and we had to step up a gear."Step up a gear they did and Gore went on an individual run which saw her cut through Scotland's defence before coolly slotting home to score England's first official goal."I was delighted, I was jumping in the air and everyone was diving on me," Gore was the start of a comeback which saw England win 3-2 but significantly it was the start of a new era for women's football in the British Isles. Gore once scored 134 goals in one season and played for renowned works team Fodens Ladies as well as north Wales-based Prestatyn, a side formed by sisters Mai and Eleri Griffith."I actually played against Sylvia when she played for England in about 1974 in Slough," recalls Michele Ward, who played in Wales' first unofficial international in 1973."We got beaten but what I do remember, it was sponsored by an egg company and at the end of games we would get presents from the other team."It was a plastic container with the English FA crest on it full of bath salts and half a dozen eggs."After retiring from playing at the age of 36 due to injury, Gore embarked on a coaching career, with Prescot Ladies - a team she founded - and then as Wales national team manager."One of the main volunteers at the item was Ida Driscoll and how she got hold of Sylvia I don't really know to be honest," Michele Adams said."Whether people in north Wales put her in touch, quite possibly."She took the burden on at its weakest because up until then they had this little committee with people from Newport and Port Talbot." Wales Women's International Football, who ran the national team and was chaired by Ida Driscoll, turned to the woman who seven years earlier scored England's first goal in an insisted that being a non-Welsh manager was not a big deal, pointing out that the manager of the senior Wales men's team at the time, Mike Smith, was also English and "not doing too bad a job"."I've said it's impossible to expect miracles," she said at the time of her appointment in February 1979."But it's a challenge. It's an opportunity and I am going to make something of it."I wouldn't have missed this chance for the world. It's something I've always wanted and I will do my utmost to make it work." Her first training session with Wales' 18-strong squad was on the morning of her first game in charge, against France in Bordeaux, following a 24-hour overland lost 6-0 in France and a 7-0 defeat later that year against hosts Italy - a semi-professional side - in the Women's World Invitational Tournament was a stark reminder of how much catching up there was to had been appointed by Wales on an initial 12-month basis, but she would remain in charge for over 10 years and her enthusiasm for the role - despite a lack of resources - remained steadfast."It's hard work but I enjoy every minute of it," Gore told the Liverpool Echo in 1989."Unfortunately we haven't enough clubs in Wales to form a proper association, which might help to attract sponsors, so we have to pay all our own expenses."Players not only had to pay their travelling expenses, they even had to pay for their own would also make substantial financial contributions from her own pocket."When Sylvia came in we used to train one weekend in north Wales and the following weekend down in south Wales," Adams added."That would happen quite regularly over a six-week period."If we had an international away somewhere we were billeted in people's houses, not hotels."Wales had faced the Republic of Ireland at Llanelli's Stebonheath Park in their first game in 1973 but were not affiliated with the Football Association of Wales at the time. Numerous attempts had been made in the preceding decades to get recognition, which had met with firm opposition and downright hostility from some Football Association of Wales (FAW) councillors."We have to remember that neither the Welsh or English FA were particularly organised in running women's football until much, much later," said The Guardian's women's football writer Tom Garry."Particularly in the 70s and 80s and into the early 90s, running women's football was a bit akin to how you might imagine a local sports community club is run in towns and villages across the country."Many people who spent time with Sylvia have always described how there was this sort of desire to help other teams develop."Knowledge-sharing was very common in those days, clubs wanting to help each other out and local FAs and local football groups wanting to help each other out. Sylvia epitomised that really, because a lot of different clubs benefited from the knowledge that she was able to share." As Wales manager, Gore - who also coached Deeside Ladies in north Wales - essentially had a pool of less than 30 players to choose from, significantly fewer than attempted to expand Wales' squad by identifying players with Welsh family backgrounds, sending letters to women's leagues throughout the UK enquiring about eligible players."We started getting players in with Welsh heritage, about three or four players from England like Ann Rice and Gaynor Jones," Adams remembers."We had quite a few like that who came in."At a time when women's football was reliant on the goodwill of volunteers and sponsors, Gore did much to raise standards."There was an appreciation of the professionalism that she brought to what was actually a very unprofessional job," Garry added."Sylvia was someone who knew what they were doing and had the best intentions of a team at heart, even if there perhaps wasn't the resource for them to go and be competitive on the wider international stage." But there were signs of was encouraged that FAW official Malcolm Stammers attended an international against England at Prescot Cables in April 1989 and presented the squad with a new kit."The big thing was to get over to the public at large that women really can play football and it is not just one big joke," Gore said after the game, which would be her last international in FAW eventually took the women's team under their control in 1993 after being approached by Adams along with fellow internationals Laura McAllister and Karen Jones.A team was entered into Uefa qualifying for the first time two years forward 30 years and the current team's appearance at Euro 2025 is Wales' first experience of playing at a major tournament. As for Gore, her involvement with football continued after her stint managing was assistant manager at Knowsley United, and acted as secretary to Liverpool FC Ladies and as a member of the FA Women's Smith and Rachel Brown-Finnis, the former England internationals, have spoken of their gratitude to Gore and the influence she had on their early 2000 she was awarded an MBE for services to girls and women's association football and she was inducted into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame a year later."Sylvia sat on various FA committees and through my club so did I," said Adams, chairwoman of FA Women's National League South side Gwalia United, who were previously known as Cardiff City Ladies, for whom she played and managed."We used to meet up quite often - two or three times a year - at these meetings and she always came bounding over towards us."She liked the involvement with the Welsh. She was a good soul and did an awful lot for the women's game." Gore died aged 71 in 2016 having made a remarkable contribution to the story of women's football. "She had been through and experienced so many of the important moments in the sport, not just playing and scoring in that first England fixture," added Garry."I think to essentially dedicate your life to trying to grow the game is almost an even stronger legacy than the sheer volume of goals that she scored for Manchester Corinthians, Foden's and England."Undoubtedly that helped both England and Wales get to a place where they are now, where these two teams are in this tournament."
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Tom almost falls off his chair laughing at the attempted compliments and, upon rewatching, Jim is not far behind. @bbcradio2 Sally + The Full Rosenthal = Absolute stitches 😂 ♬ original sound - BBC Radio 2 Rosenthal is alive all right and, while now 77 and no longer a fixture on our screens, speaks with the same passion and encyclopaedic knowledge you will remember. An unforgettable voice remains reassuringly familiar. Rosenthal is evidently also keeping himself very fit and, on the morning of our afternoon coffee, had just run six miles through Hyde Park. 'I think people thought they might need to give me the kiss of life,' he says. Had they asked, they could also have heard a personal anecdote about pretty much any sporting personality of note during the past 50 years. Ferguson's hairdryer treatment I mention Sir Alex Ferguson and he tells me about their first meeting, in Aberdeen, when he was dispatched to Scotland's East Coast to document how they were breaking up the Old Firm dominance. 'He was always first in and last away,' says Rosenthal who, between recounting one personal Fergie hairdryer anecdote, says they actually met up just a few months ago. 'Two old boys,' he says. 'He took me down to his garden centre and we had a bite to eat; talking about anything and everything. I do treasure that relationship. Everyone goes on about the fear side. There's the generous side of his nature as well. When I had a bad time at ITV, he sent me a message I'll never forget.' And his taste of the hairdryer? 'Light entertainment had asked me to do a pre-FA Cup final show on the Friday: Arsenal v Newcastle United,' he says. 'They had a lot of anti-Manchester United jokes. I was, 'No – I don't want to say that'. They also had a blank white T-shirt and nagged me to hold it up and go: 'There we go, here's what Man United won this year.' 'On the Monday it was the launch of ITV's France '98 panel and Fergie was working with us. I looked over at him and he looked away. I thought, 'That's not good'. We then had a team picture. I sat in the front, Alex behind. And he had a three-minute rant, 'What the f--- are you doing? You're a sports presenter. Why are you getting involved in nonsense like that?' It went on and on and on. I could feel the breath. It was the hairdryer and then some at full blast. 'In the end, it was Terry Venables who said, 'Leave him alone Alex, he's got the message'. I felt terrible. At lunch, I said to Alex, 'We need to have a conversation'. He was: 'Why's that? It's forgotten. It's done.' and it was. We worked together for the next six weeks. If you think about it, that's how he must have been with his players. And he was probably right by the way – I shouldn't have done that.' I mention Muhammad Ali and Rosenthal then tells me about working on boxing for BBC Radio in the late Seventies and making a cold call to what he had been told was his telephone number in Los Angeles. Ali himself picked up the phone and, by the end of the day, Rosenthal had spent four golden hours inside the home of sport's original GOAT. Rosenthal has never formally retired – and actually only finished a five-season stint presenting live Premier League football on Amazon in December – but also seems perfectly content to have come full circle in now consuming most of his sport as a fanatical observer. He had promised himself he would not bother with the Club World Cup, but admits that he has succumbed. 'Without satellite television I dread to think what my life would be like,' he says. 'The coverage in general terms is fantastic. The pictures you get are absolutely amazing. 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They've trained me but the way they have been with sport… they're the only organisation in the world that has £5 billion on the tap that never gets turned off every year. Choosing where you put your money is absolutely up to the BBC but don't say, 'We haven't got the money'. 'Sports Personality of the Year, we'd gnash our teeth and go, 'Crikey they've got all that'. But now it's completely flipped. Quite simply if you follow your sport on BBC, and haven't got satellite television, I feel sorry for you. The reach of the BBC is phenomenal still – it's a phenomenal brand – but they are not a brand leader in sport.' Wimbledon fever prompts Rosenthal to recall his debut working on the tournament in 1978 with, among others, the legendary Fred Perry. 'Three minutes to 2pm on the first day, he was, 'There's a call you must take'. Then there was a voice. 'Is that Rosenthal?' 'Yes, it is.' ''It's the BBC pronunciation department. I just want to make sure you are calling the defending champion correctly. The correct pronunciation is 'Bjorn Borr-ee'. I was, 'Mate, there will be a lot of people wondering what the hell I know about tennis if they are my first words. I'll be dead in the first 10 seconds'.' Commentary about 'emotion not statistics' Rosenthal believes that a big fault now of commentators, pundits and presenters is to rely excessively on statistics. He also urges them to pay no attention to social media. 'Some commentators are absolutely incredible, and they are treated like axe murderers with the vitriol that comes their way,' he says. 'When I did the Amazon games, somebody said, 'We'll send you a stats pack – it's 75 pages'. There's never been an iconic commentary line with a stat in it and there never will be. It's finding the emotions. One of the first things I was told coming from radio to TV was: 'Don't talk all the bloody time.' Other than that I've never had any training. B------ings, but not training.' Talk of the great commentators and presenters soon gets Rosenthal purring. Among others, he loved Brian Moore, Peter Jones, Dickie Davies, Bryon Butler, Michael Parkinson and Murray Walker. 'There's never been a commentator more suited to a sport than Murray,' he says. 'He'd get so much information in that paddock – talk to the tyre people, the caterers, everybody. I said to Martin Brundle, 15-20 years ago, 'You've got it in you to become the new Murray Walker' and he's close. That broadcasting combination was made in heaven. You get these combinations that you could never manufacture but just work: Reg [Gutteridge] and Jim [Watt] in boxing, Saint and Greavsie.' Rosenthal later directs me to Jones's extraordinarily moving dispatch from Hillsborough on the day that 97 Liverpool fans so tragically lost their lives and shakes his head in a mixture of sadness and professional awe. With a background in news reporting after training on the Oxford Mail and then covering the Birmingham bombings in 1974, Rosenthal would himself experience haunting occasions when the actual sport became irrelevant. ITV's Big Fight was a Saturday night institution during the early Nineties, peaking in both drama and tragedy with an extraordinary series of bouts involving Chris Eubank, Michael Watson and Nigel Benn that could draw in excess of 16 million viewers. 'It was a huge sport on ITV – we stopped dinner parties,' he says. Rosenthal's voice then trails off as he also acknowledges the guilt you can feel about being drawn to the spectacle and recalls the life-changing injuries that were respectively inflicted on Watson and then Gerald McClellan. 'I think after those two fights – and I don't blame them either – the executives said, 'We don't really want people watching this live on Saturday night prime time',' he says. Another free-to-air juggernaut in this era was athletics. 'Linford Christie, Sally Gunnell, Colin Jackson, John Regis, Steve Cram – I cannot tell you how big it was,' says Rosenthal. 'Now, go in the street, and say, 'Name a British athlete'. What would they say? It's the saddest sports story of the lot. The only caveat is I now see many more people running around than I ever did. 'You'd have two hours on a Friday night – ITV would get 8-9 million [viewers] and then we'd hand over to Channel 4 who had 4-5 million. I got hauled in once. They said, 'You're taking too many viewers to Channel 4. I was, 'What do you want me to say? That I wouldn't bother, it's a load of c--p coming up?' 'We're a sports-loving nation – massive optimists about sport. I'm a believer in sports needing big characters, big rivalries. Once that's lost, it's very hard. Every sport is a market place – and your stall has got to look pretty good.' ITV, he reveals, would have away days at a Surrey hotel where they would try to forecast the nation's next big sporting obsession. 'We used to have massive debates: what is going to be the new snooker? One time we came up with croquet. Madness. We also did a whole afternoon of polo on World of Sport. Wrestling would be the springboard to the whole of ITV for Saturday night.' As well as being a huge viewer of sport, Rosenthal is himself now president of the Cookham Dean Cricket Club and a director at Northampton Town in League One. 'I get a lot of enjoyment out of that involvement,' he says. 'I've always been a huge sports fan – and just so very lucky to dovetail my passion and get paid for it as well.'
