Heartbreak for Dimitrov as he retires when two sets up on world number one
The 34-year-old Bulgarian was two sets up and playing some inspired tennis when, at 2-2 in the third set, he clutched his chest after serving an ace.
Sinner rushed around the net to check on his opponent as he sat, in some distress, on the court.
The 19th seed was helped to his feet by two physios and went off to receive treatment, before returning a few minutes later to shake Sinner's hand.
It was more dreadful luck for a popular player, who had to retire injured from matches in the last four grand slams, including against Daniil Medvedev here at the same stage last year.
Sinner, who helped Dimitrov pack his rackets away and carried his bag off court, said: 'I don't know what to say. He is an incredible player, I think we all saw this today.
'He's been so unlucky in the past couple of years. An incredible player, a good friend also. Seeing him in this position, if there would be a chance he could play the next round he would deserve it.
'I hope he has a speedy recovery. I don't take this as a win at all. This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.
'In the last grand slams he struggled a lot. Seeing him again having this kind of injury is very, very tough. It's very sad. We all wish him only the best, let's have applause for him.'
It was a major reprieve for Sinner, the three-time grand slam winner who looked set to be on the end of a seismic shock in front of a stunned Centre Court.
The Italian had slipped on the baseline in the opening game and took a medical timeout midway through the second set for treatment on his right wrist and elbow.
But the physio was unable to alleviate the real pain for Sinner, which was Dimitrov serving up a grass-court clinic on a surface the 23-year-old has yet to get to grips with.
However, after two hours and eight minutes of vintage Dimitrov, his body let him down again, so it is the top seed who will face American Ben Shelton in the quarter-finals.
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The Irish Sun
37 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Kerry ace has come back from the wilderness after US stint to emerge as key cog in All-Ireland bid
ON A day when Kerry kicked fourteen points without reply to KO the All-Ireland champions, it was no mean feat to be one of the first players name-checked in the winning manager's post-match press briefing. Seán O'Shea and David Clifford 2 Micheál Burns was critical to their second half explosion 2 Embracing Mark O'Shea after they thumped Armagh by 0-32 to 1-21 But when it came to highlighting individual contributions, Jack O'Connor started with two of the men he called upon from the bench. The Kerry boss said: 'The introduction of Paudie Clifford at half-time just gave everybody a lift because we know the calibre of a player Paudie is. Him and Micheál Burns really lifted the team.' The elder of the Clifford brothers exerted the type of influence we have come to expect from a man who won his third straight All-Star in 2023. However, given Burns was persona non grata when Armagh dumped them out of the 2024 Championship, Read More On GAA O'Connor added: 'Micheál Burns had the game of his life. He came on and showed he's a big player for us.' During one of the most spellbinding periods of football that Croke Park has seen in an age, Armagh were haemorrhaging scores. And Burns wasted no time in doing his bit to prevent Kieran McGeeney's side from stopping the bleeding. Just seven seconds after he was sprung into action at wing-forward, Burns was on the ball. Most read in GAA Football He weaved his way towards the Armagh goal from the left, bought space by selling Tiernan Kelly a dummy and sent over a point that pushed Kerry's lead out to four. The 28-year-old later raised another white flag as they Watch RTE pundits' contrasting reaction to full-time whistle of Tipperary's epic win over Kilkenny Kerry legend Colm Cooper, a Dr Crokes clubmate of Burns, said this week: 'I'm glad to see him back. I think Kerry are a better team when he's on the pitch.' While Armagh were conquering the Kingdom at the semi-final stage 12 months ago, Burns was on a sojourn to Chicago. He had not been seen in a Kerry jersey since he was withdrawn at half-time in the defeat to Derry in the opening round of the National League. Burns featured in the 2022 final against Galway when O'Connor steered Kerry to Sam Maguire glory. Under the same boss, he was man of the match in the victory over Donegal in the 2014 minor decider. Despite reports he departed the county set-up of his own accord, Burns explained he would 'never turn down a chance to play for Kerry' while speaking to TG4 after helping Crokes to club championship success against Dingle last September. He elaborated in an interview with the US TREK After a few months of county action with Crokes, Burns went across the Atlantic. A summer living the American dream helped him to move on from his Kerry nightmare. With the Wolfe Tones club, where Clare forward Eoin Cleary was a team-mate, he won a North American championship. Cleary told SunSport: 'The experience out there helped him because the Kerry situation would have been difficult for him personally. As you get to know any fella, he'd open up a bit more. 'And you could see the disappointment that was there and how much it meant to him to play for Kerry. 'His form in America was excellent and he brought that back with him to Crokes, which seems to have given him great confidence for the way he's been playing with Kerry ever since. 'He'd say himself that going to America really stood to him. He probably went home in a more relaxed mindset than in previous seasons and it told in his form.' 'VERY FRESH' Pat O'Shea's Crokes returned to the summit in the Kingdom for the first time since 2018 before being crowned Munster champions. Former Kerry captain Fionn Fitzgerald was one of many star performers but none shone more brightly than Burns. 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Fitzgerald, who lifted Sam Maguire in 2014, added: 'Micheál is a Croke Park type of player. It suits him there. "He likes a kicking game and front-foot football, so the new rules and Croke Park really play to his strengths. 'Whether he's starting or coming on, I think his maturity is such now that he has the ability to deal with all the different scenarios. 'He'll handle whatever role he's given and he's been a great addition to Kerry really. In hindsight, he's someone that they missed during this stage of the Championship last year.'
Irish Daily Mirror
2 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
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Irish Independent
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- Irish Independent
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