A devastated Grigor Dimitrov exited Wimbledon in tears after being forced to forfeit his match due to injury when two sets up against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in a Round of 16 clash on Monday. Dimitrov, who hails from Bulgaria, claimed a 6-3, 7-5, 2-2 lead in an enthralling contest when he fell to the grass holding his right pectoral after serving an ace. He appeared to be in serious pain following the incident, and Sinner rushed to check on him. Dimitrov received medical treatment after returning to his chair and then briefly left the court.

The Centre Court crowd gave Dimitrov a standing ovation, marking his exit from the tournament while trying to control his tears. He struggled to wave at them as he found it difficult to lift his right arm.

Dimitrov was in control of the match, leading by two sets when play was suspended for 13 minutes as officials elected to close the roof - a decision labelled "ridiculous" by two-time champion Andy Murray. The Bulgarian returned after the break and continued to control the game against Sinner, only for injury to destroy what had been growing quarterfinal hopes.

It is the latest in a string of injuries for the 34-year-old, who retired injured from his first-round matches at both the Australian Open and French Open earlier this year. This propelled Italian Sinner into the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the second time.

No other player has been forced to retire injured from ATP Tour matches more often than Dimitrov, who has now quit 12 matches. Remarkably, he has retired injured in each of his past five Grand Slam appearances, including at this year's French and Australian Opens.

In an identical scenario, Sinner also took a medical timeout midway through the second set for apparent elbow discomfort. He even looked uncomfortable following a fall in the opening game but seemed to be rediscovering his rhythm when Dimitrov picked up the injury.

Sinner will undergo an MRI to assess the extent of his injury. Sinner is set to face Ben Shelton of the USA in the quarterfinal on Wednesday.

"It was an unfortunate fall - I checked the video and it didn't seem a tough one, but I still felt it a lot during serve and forehands especially," he told the media at the post match press conference.