On July 7, 2025, Grigor Dimitrov suffered one of the most devastating losses of his career, tearing a pectoral muscle while leading eventual champion Jannik Sinner by two sets in the round of 16. He later admitted to crying in his locker room for two hours before going to the hospital.
Little did he know he’d be back at the All England Club less than a year later, celebrating one of the greatest moments of his career at age 35.
“It’s truly amazing to be back here. I’m just, I’m so happy,” Dimitrov told the crowd after defeating fellow fan favorite Matteo Berrettini, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3.
“I’m just happy to be back. I just wanted to come and compete again, and again, and again, as much as I could,” Dimitrov said before spending a good half-hour signing autographs around Centre Court. “There’s something special in the air out here.”
Dimitrov, who will face British wild card Arthur Fery in the fourth round, never hung his head after Berrettini rallied from two sets down to force a decider. Instead, he stayed focused and seized control in the fifth set to secure the emotional victory, his 28th career Wimbledon win.
“Tennis is not a sprint, it’s a marathon,” he said. “He played amazing in the third and the fourth. I had chances. I was just hanging in there, and I felt that eventually I was gonna get a chance.
“I had to constantly reframe my mind just to stay positive, and I knew eventually I would get a chance. I didn’t know when, but I just felt like I had to stay there. Physically, I felt better and better, which helped me a lot.”
Ranked No.146, Dimitrov reaches the Wimbledon round of 16 for the sixth time, and with no former Wimbledon finalist remaining in the bottom half of the draw, the opportunity is there to go even deeper.
For now, he’s simply relishing the moment and trying to write another memorable chapter before his career draws to a close.
“I think after last year, the way I exited, I wouldn’t have ever known what would have happened. But guess what? This year I’m back here and I’m able to rewrite everything again,” he said.
“It’s not about winning or losing, but overcoming every obstacle in front of me and staying in the present moment. Enjoy moments like that. I repeated that more than a thousand times throughout the match today. I was like, ‘Just enjoy this moment. It’s not very often you get to play out here, and I really don’t know how many more times I’ll be able to come back, so I might as well make the most of it.’ I think that constant reframing of my mindset, without thinking about the outcome, made the difference.”