Rough day at Wimbledon as Grigor Dimitrov joins list of players forced to retire

First, Madison Keys was forced to retire after suffering a left leg injury. She was leading Jasmine Paolini in the third set and serving. She was playing brilliantly and with Wimbledon being wide open on the women's side, Keys could have made a run at the title.

Grigor Dimitrov had never made it past the fourth round at the grass-court major before and he suffered a service break early in the first set against Daniil Medvedev. While the Bulgarian might have lost the set, Grand Slams are not two sets and done. They are endurance vents. Losing a first set does not mean the match is over.

The issue for Dimitrov, as it is for many players, is that playing on grass can sometimes be like playing on ice. Sliding around unintentionally happens quite a bit. On the point Dimitrov was hurt, Medvedev was hitting a forehand toward him and the Bulgarian needed to move only a slight bit but also needed to be able to stop quickly. Unfortunately, he could not do so.

Grigor Dimitrov forced to retire at Wimbledon in the fourth round against Daniil Medvedev

Dimitrov slid and was obviously bothered by his left hip. He continued to play but was not fully healthy. He then took an off-court medical break only to return and have Medvedev hit three straight aces past him. The Russian was serving well, but clearly, Dimitrov could not move even to try to return the ball. There was seemingly no way he was going to be able to keep playing.

After grimacing in pain, the Bulgarian called it a day. The crowd showed their support by cheering for him and Medvedev did the classy thing of directing the spectators' attention to Dimitrov, but the grass courts had simply claimed the most recent victim.

There was no immediate word on Dimitrov's injury and that might not be known for a few days. Hip injuries are no joke for tennis players, of course, and hopefully, the Bulgarian's issue won't be long-lasting. He is one of the nicest players on the ATP tour and he deserves better things to happen to him than getting injured.

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