Sinner advances at Wimbledon when injured Dimitrov retires - ESPN

Jannik Sinner advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals despite hurting his right elbow in a fall and dropping the first two sets Monday night, after his opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, had to retire with an injured pectoral muscle.

The No. 1-seeded Sinner hadn't dropped a set in the tournament until falling behind No. 19 Dimitrov 6-3, 7-5. But at 2-all in the third set, Dimitrov stopped playing.

«I don't take this as a win, at all,» Sinner said while giving a reluctant on-court interview. «This is just a very unfortunate moment to witness for all of us.»

It's the fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament where Dimitrov failed to complete a match, the longest such streak by any man in the Open era. He also retired at the Australian Open in January and the French Open in May, plus last year's Wimbledon and US Open.

On the last point against Sinner, Dimitrov served and immediately clutched his chest with his left hand. He took a few steps and crouched, before sitting on the grass. Sinner walked over to that side of the court to check on him.

«My pec,» Dimitrov told Sinner.

Dimitrov — a three-time major semifinalist, including at Wimbledon in 2014 — then went to the sideline, sat in his chair and was checked by a trainer and doctor. As Dimitrov talked with them, Sinner knelt nearby. After a delay of a few minutes, Dimitrov walked toward the locker room with the medical personnel.

Soon, he reemerged and said he couldn't continue.

Two hours earlier, it was Sinner down on the ground and seemingly in trouble. He was hurt in the opening game, when his foot gave out from under him and he slipped and fell behind a baseline, bracing his fall with his right hand while still holding his racket.

During a medical timeout while trailing 3-2 in