Jannik Sinner told he made a ‘strange move’ before Wimbledon which may already have backfired on him

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Jannik Sinner’s fourth-round match at Wimbledon made plenty of headlines, as he narrowly escaped defeat.

When the world number one stepped onto Centre Court to take on Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, many were expecting a routine win.

What followed stunned everyone in attendance, as Dimitrov took a two-set lead against Sinner, leaving the Italian on the brink of elimination.

However, at two games all in the third set, Dimitrov injured himself while serving, forcing him to retire from the match, sending Sinner through to the quarterfinals.

Relieved to have qualified for the last eight, Sinner isn’t in the clear just yet, as he himself received medical treatment during the match.

With the three-time major champion set for an elbow MRI on Tuesday, questions have been asked as to whether Sinner made a big mistake before Wimbledon.

Jon Wertheim thinks Jannik Sinner’s decision to split with his fitness coach and physio may have backfired

Before Wimbledon began, Sinner split with two members of his coaching team, fitness trainer Ulises Badio and physio Marco Panichi.

The decision seemed strange at the time, and even more so now, as the Italian faces a fitness test before his quarterfinal match with Ben Shelton.

During the latest edition of Served with Andy Roddick, Jon Wertheim suggested Sinner’s decision may already have ‘backfired’.

“Sinner fired a large part of his staff before the tournament, and now might be injured,” he said.

“That thought crossed our minds. I was told don’t worry, there is someone from the Italian Federation. The tournament has their own physios.

“Look how many players can’t afford their own physios. Basically that there are reinforcements there.

“But this is not just a team that is there for support and rhythm. They know his body really well.

“We talked before the tournament and [said it was] a strange move to fire two members of your medical staff on the eve of a major, and now we are in week two, and there seems to be an arm injury.

“Might that decision backfire? We shall see.”

It remains to be seen if Sinner will be back fit to play Shelton in the quarterfinals, as the Italian continues his hunt for a maiden Wimbledon title.

Is Jannik Sinner still a favorite to win Wimbledon?

Winning his third-round match against Pedro Martinez in dominant fashion, Sinner broke the record for the fewest games dropped en route to the last 16 of Wimbledon.

• Jannik Sinner 2025 – 17 games dropped
• Roger Federer 2004 – 19 games dropped

In doing so, Sinner confirmed his status as one of the top-three favorites for the title, alongside two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and seven-time champion Novak Djokovic.

The 23-year-old was, at that point, the only player of the trio yet to drop a set at SW19, although that is, of course, no longer the case.

Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat against Dimitrov, Sinner’s vulnerability on the grass resurfaced, as he looked second-best for the majority of the match.

It’s impossible to predict whether a fully fit Dimitrov would have finished the job, but he certainly seemed well placed to advance to the quarterfinals.

Struggling as much as he did, and with question marks surrounding his elbow, it’s fair to say Sinner’s title chances took a big hit on Monday evening.

That’s not to say his rivals have had it easy, though, as both Alcaraz and Djokovic struggled at points during their fourth-round matches.

Both players dropped the first sets of their matches as they eventually made their way past Andrey Rublev and Alex de Minaur in four sets.

Heading into the quarterfinals, Sinner has dropped fewer sets than Alcaraz, but is now tied with Djokovic on two sets dropped at SW19.

Sinner has, however, dropped the fewest games of the eight Wimbledon quarterfinalists, leading the pack with 32.

Only time will tell if Sinner can return to full fitness and produce another dominant performance in the quarterfinals, or if Shelton will cause the Italian problems just as Dimitrov did in the previous round.

Whatever happens, you won’t want to miss any of the action as Sinner and Shelton battle it out for a place in the semi-finals on Wednesday, July 9.