Jannik Sinner got away with one after his last 16 opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, was forced to retire when leading two sets to one against the world number one.
Sinner was hopelessly out of sorts by his usual high standards and was facing a fight to remain in Wimbledon and attempt to win the competition for the first time in his career.
Dimitrov has been here before with injuries and this one was perhaps the most alarming, with his pectoral muscle appearing to give out when performing a routine serve.
It’s now five consecutive major tournaments that Dimitrov has withdrawn from through injury and at 34-years-old, alarm bells will start ringing after this Wimbledon heartbreak.
Sinner delivered a classy reaction to Dimitrov during his on-court interview and perhaps the Italian knows that he was lucky to escape that match still in the competition.
Jannik Sinner sends classy Instagram message to Grigor Dimitrov
No player ever wants to reach the quarter-final of a Grand Slam in this fashion, and it would appear that Sinner is no different.
After the dust had settled on the SW19 affair, Sinner took to Instagram to pay tribute to the Bulgarian player who must be wondering where he goes from here.
He posted: “Get well soon, my friend. Wishing you all the best!”
Dimitrov will now hope to recover for the eagerly anticipated swing in the USA, and much like Wimbledon, the US Open is another tournament where the world number 21 has been to a semi-final.
Sinner must now focus on his own fitness
Sinner might not be out of the woods just yet when it comes to preparing for a quarter-final date with Ben Shelton on Wednesday.
Some alarming news came out of Wimbledon late last night that Sinner is booked for an MRI scan today after sustaining an injury to his elbow in the very first game of the match against Dimitrov.
That is a serious concern, with the elbow absolutely integral to the power that a tennis player can generate on a ball and there really is no hiding place when that part of the body gets injured.
Every tennis fan wants to see the very best players in the latter stages of tournaments and as a result, the hope will be that Sinner is fit to play on Wednesday.
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