In a video of the moment, it looked as though the 34-year-old Dimitrov injured a pectoral muscle on a volley. Almost immediately after the hit, he fell to the ground, clutching the right side of his chest in pain.

The 34-year-old Bulgarian won the first two sets 6-3, 7-5 and was tied with Sinner 2-2 in the third when he went down with the injury.

Dimitrov & Jannik Sinner share an embrace as Grigor retires from their match at Wimbledon due to injury Grigor has had to deal with so much over the last few years Hard to watch this happen to anyone, especially someone as kind & hardworking as him 💔 pic.twitter.com/2k7gXAxgDq

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.

Grigor Dimitrov was in full control on Monday with a chance for one of the biggest upsets at Wimbledon. But a pectoral injury ended his day early, and he was forced to retire while holding a two-set lead over No.

Follow our analysis and reactions from day eight at Wimbledon as Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic moved into the quarterfinals

Injured Grigor Dimitrov retires from Jannik Sinner match with two-set lead at Wimbledon - The Bulgarian was on the verge of an upset against the world No 1 when the injury occurred

Jannik Sinner reached the quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Championships in a completely unexpected way. The world No. 1 was considered a clear favorite against Bulgarian veteran Grigor Dimitrov on Centre Court,