Dimitrov’s fairytale rolls on as he outlasts Berrettini in a five-set epic
A year after leaving Centre Court injured and heartbroken, Grigor Dimitrov (No 146) outlasted Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 to reach the Wimbledon last 16.
Grigor Dimitrov, Wimbledon 2026 | © Ch. Caillaud / PsNewz
Grigor Dimitrov extended one of the most stirring runs of the fortnight on Saturday evening, outlasting Italian Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 in 3 hours nand 31 minutes to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon a year on from the injury that had reduced the same court to heartbreak.
Ranked No 146 and playing on a wild card, the 35-year-old had every reason to fear a repeat of last year, when an injury forced him to retire against Jannik Sinner from a winning position – a wound, physical and emotional, that has shadowed his season.
The ghosts loomed again here. Dimitrov led by two sets and looked in command, only for the match to be halted while the Centre Court roof was closed, a 15-minute interruption that broke his rhythm at the worst moment. Berrettini seized on it, taking the fourth, in which Dimitrov served for the match at 5-4 only to be broken as the Italian held and immediately broke back to force a decider.
Dimitrov’s sublime winners
That Dimitrov did not fold, having been a game from victory and then hauled into a fifth set, was the measure of the man. The break that settled it came at 2-1 in the decider, and it came from a sublime service game of returns: two blocked back into play, one of them a clean winner, and a divine passing shot down the line on break point. From there Dimitrov held his nerve to close out a win that moved him, improbably, into the second week.
Dimitrov could barely contain what the night meant to him. “Truly amazing to be back here,” he said after the match. “I just wanted to come and compete again and again, as much as I could, in front of you guys. There’s something special in the air out here.”
Tennis is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, especially best of five, and he played amazing in the third and the fourth.
For a player whose relationship with this court had been defined by last year’s cruelty, the simple act of walking off it a winner carried a weight that went beyond the scoreline.
He was clear-eyed about how the match had slipped and how he had recovered it. “Tennis is not a sprint, it’s a marathon, especially best of five, and he played amazing in the third and the fourth,” Dimitrov said.
“My first-serve percentage went down, so I put myself in that position a little. I just had to constantly reframe my mind, stay positive, and know that eventually I’d get a chance – I didn’t know when.” The turn came late. “Physically I felt better and better, which helped a lot, and in the last three games I felt I was finding my movement again, reading the game, putting him in awkward positions.”
Dimitrov had reached the third round with wins over Czech seed No 15 Jakub Mensik (7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3) and Australian Dane Sweeny (7-6 (4), 6-3, 7-5).
Berrettini, ranked No 51, had staged a Wimbledon revival of his own, saving six set points to send Swiss great Stan Wawrinka into retirement across four tie-breaks (6-7 (7), 7-6 (16), 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5)) before beating French seed No 20 Arthur Fils (6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3) – a run that ended, fittingly, in another contest between two players who have spent recent seasons fighting their bodies back to this stage.
Dimitrov will next face British wild card Arthur Fery, who reached the last 16 with a five-set comeback of his own, for a place in the quarter-finals. Told his next opponent would be the last British player standing, Dimitrov took the prospect of facing a home favourite in good humour.
“The crowd here are so fair, so I totally understand, no problem,” he said. “I’m just looking forward to coming back and competing again. It’s wonderful to be in the second week.” Dimitrov’s season had been a struggle: a 5-13 record including Challenger events, with seven first-round exits between March and May.
Wimbledon 2026, Men’s singles 1st round results
J. Sinner [1] d. J. Brooksby: 6-4, 6-3, 6-4
S. Mochizuki (Q) d. R. Jodar [23]: 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4
H. Hurkacz d. T. Paul [21]: 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5, 6-2
J. Struff d. D. Medvedev [8]: 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 7-5
F. Auger-Aliassime [3] d. M. Zheng (Q): 7-6(1), 6-2, 6-1
A. Davidovich Fokina [22] d. M. Fucsovics: 7-6(3), 6-2, 6-3
R. Safiullin (Q) d. J. Fonseca [24]: 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
N. Djokovic [7] d. A. Rinderknech [25]: 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4)
A. De Minaur [5] d. Z. Svajda: 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
F. Cobolli [9] d. K. Khachanov [19]: 0-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-2
G. Dimitrov (W) d. M. Berrettini: 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
A. Fery (W) d. Z. Bergs: 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5)
T. Fritz [6] d. L. Sonego: 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5)
A. Bublik [10] d. F. Tiafoe [17]: 4-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (11), 4-6, 6-3
J. Lehecka [13] d. J. Munar: 6-4, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
A. Zverev [2] d. M. Giron: 6-2, 7-6(4), 6-4
