Grigor Dimitrov advanced to the Wimbledon fourth round after beating Matteo Berrettini in five sets.
Dimitrov, who infamously suffered a severe pectoral injury in the fourth round of last year’s event, defeated Berrettini 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3.
Dimitrov has now fully justified his wildcard selection, and he will now face fellow wildcard Arthur Fery in the fourth round.
Give us your one crazy prediction for the second week of Wimbledon!
The Bulgarian has long been recognised as an excellent grass-court player; and he is now firmly in contention for the Wimbledon title.
But does Dimitrov himself believe that he can go all the way in south-west London?
Can Grigor Dimitrov win Wimbledon?
“Do you think it’s feasible to win the tournament?”
This was a question asked to Grigor Dimitrov during his post-match press conference after beating Matteo Berrettini.
“Listen, when you have a racquet in your hand, everything is possible. It’s a great story, isn’t it?” Dimitrov replied. “No, I get it, trust me. I live for those…
“Yeah, again, I don’t want to get ahead of myself on anything. But it truly — I’m just proud. I’m just proud that I’m able to just to handle myself the way that I’m doing it right now.
“That’s the things that you just mentioned early on, I felt I have done well. I think even if I would have lost that match today, I still would have been proud, because I knew I have given everything I could have.
“You know, there is such a fine line when you win or lose of how mentally you treat yourself. It’s a very difficult for me to explain, so I will try to sum it up.
“It’s like if you win, then you start picking up on the smallest thing you have done on the court. And then if you lose, you’re on the biggest thing, right? There is always that fine line of you need to kind of keep a balance on both sides.”
“All I wanted to do was, you know, compete, stay present, stay fit, you know, physically, mentally. Because I couldn’t really do that much in the third and the fourth set, if you think about it. He was outplaying me completely.
“There was not much for me to do.
Grigor Dimitrov’s Wimbledon campaign so far
- R1: defeated Dane Sweeny 7-6, 6-3, 7-5
- R2: defeated Jakub Mensik 7-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
- R3: Matteo Berrettini 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3
- R4: will play Great Britain’s Arthur Fery
“There is this little place where I was, Okay, I might have a chance, even if in the fifth it might be, I don’t know, a let call, a ball, maybe he’s going to have an off serve. Maybe I was reading the serve better.
“Then little by little, you build that mental toughness, and when push comes to shove in those important moments, I was really able to use it.
“That made a difference today.”
Dimitrov has come a long way since suffering that horrific injury at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships.
The Bulgarian led world number one Jannik Sinner by two sets when he suffered the pectoral tear, handing Sinner the match.
Sinner went on to win the Wimbledon title, beating Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
“I was lucky against Grigor, but I took it as a sign,” the Italian later stated.
Dimitrov and Sinner could play each other again at this year’s event, should they both reach the final.
Grigor Dimitrov should be wary of Arthur Fery
World number 114 Arthur Fery is the only British player left in either of the singles draws at Wimbledon.
The 23-year-old has performed superbly at the event, beating Damir Dzumhur, Otto Virtanen, and Zizou Bergs en route to the fourth round.
Two of these victories – Virtanen and Bergs – were five-set affairs.
With the British crowd fully behind the youngster, Fery represents a threat to any player remaining in the men’s singles event.
“Yeah, I’ve practiced with both of them,” Fery said of Berrettini and Dimitrov after beating Bergs on Saturday. “I don’t know either of them well.
“Obviously two very established players. They’ve had great careers. So it’s going to be, yeah, a great challenge for me to play one of those guys.
“I’m looking forward to it. I feel confident in myself. I feel confident in the fact that I can rival-ize with them and put a good performance in.”
Dimitrov, playing in his fourth consecutive Wimbledon fourth round, admitted that the contest against Fery will not be ‘easy.’
I mean, listen, it’s not going to be an easy match. I have seen him play,” the Bulgarian said during his post-match press conference. “He’s a great competitor. He’s playing at home. I mean, second week, Wimbledon, big court.
“I can totally get it (smiling). No, I’m going to approach this match as every other match. There’s nothing has changed on my side. I’m just really going to focus on my side of the net and what I want to be doing out there and achieving on the court.
“Try to find a way around that match. You know, that’s going to be for me, as I said, I have seen him play. He’s a great player. Yeah, I’m sure we are both going to be ready for that match.”
