On Monday night, July 7, Grigor Dimitrov was four games away from a great victory. A victory over world number 1 Jannik Sinner - a tennis player who has set the pace for the last little over a year, a tennis player who has been at the top of the world rankings for nearly 60 weeks. Grigor was leading the Italian by two sets in their match in the Round of 16 of the Wimbledon Championships, when, with the score at 2-2 in the third game, he was forced to retire due to injury. This happened to him for the fifth consecutive Grand Slam tournament...FIFTH consecutive.

It is difficult to talk and reflect on the "what could have been" if Dimitrov had not had to withdraw. The tennis player himself has logically decided not to speak after his withdrawal late in the evening, and this is completely understandable. The 34-year-old from Haskovo, a former Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2014, when he also played a very strong match against Novak Djokovic, played almost perfect tennis against Sinner in the first two sets. Very stable on serve, great and measured slice backhands, which were a serious thorn in the opponent's side, who in many episodes of these two sets seemed not just clueless, but helpless on Center Court. Grigor simply seemed certain for the next phase of the tournament, after he managed to overcome a slight mini-shock at the end of the second set, when he was broken in the tenth game, serving for 2-0.

It is difficult to talk and reflect, it is also difficult to give an explanation for yet another injury and lack of bad luck, which prevented Grigor from fighting for victory - yes, it was very close, but tennis is unpredictable enough to have guarantees that the Bulgarian will definitely close the match in his favor. But everything pointed in this direction. And all of that against Sinner, who in his first three matches at the All England Club gave a total of only 17 games to his three opponents - Luca Nardi, Aleksandar Vukic and Pedro Martinez.

Before the injury, Grigor's tears, the withdrawal and all the drama that shock all, including Sinner, an important moment was the closing of the roof of the Center Court. A decision by the organizers that was not well received by either Grigor or former Wimbledon players and champions such as Andy Murray. Closing the roof takes about 10-15 minutes, and during this time Bulgaria's best tennis player, who had entered an excellent rhythm, was forced to simply warm up with serves. Closing the roof also makes the game different and although Sinner did not get any tangible advantage from this, he definitely stabilized his shots at the beginning of the third set. The game went game by game until 2-2, when Grigor tied after a good serve, which turned out to be his last of the match.

Dimitrov immediately collapsed on the court, experiencing serious pain in his pectoral muscle. Such information also appeared after the match, and if it is a question of a tear, not a strain, this will further increase the recovery period. The Bulgarian immediately understood where things were going after a conversation with a physiotherapist and despite going back to the locker room for a short time, everything was clear. Grigor again did not finish a Slam tournament, and this was the fifth consecutive disappointment of this nature for him - another bitter pill for the Bulgarian, who in the 1/4-finals would have played with Ben Shelton from the USA, if he had overcome Sinner.

At this mature age in tennis - 34 years, five consecutive withdrawals from tournaments of the highest category are too much for any professional player. It is difficult, probably impossible, for anyone to step into Grigor's shoes and say that they understand how he feels right now after yet another disappointment. This time, the pain on his face was more than obvious. The tears of a former world number 3, a three-time semi-finalist in the Grand Slam, a tennis player who always could, but we have often used the word "could have, if it wasn't...".

Whether Dimitrov is already asking himself the question "Is that all?", we have no way of knowing at this stage. Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is 8 years younger than him, also withdrew from Wimbledon earlier and spoke about the meaning of continuing training when such things happen. Physical condition is extremely important, especially at an advanced tennis age, and Grigor is well aware of it. How many more disappointments he will be able to swallow, only he knows, but those like yesterday's sometimes come too much for himself and for his many fans not only in Bulgaria, but also around the world. | BGNES

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Stefan Ignatov, BGNES Sports Department