Grigor Dimitrov Suffers a Major Setback, Retires Mid-Match at US Open 2021

It’s time for the second round of the US Open 2021 and fans witnessed quite a shocking affair there today. Former World No.3 Grigor Dimitrov retired in the middle of the third set during his match against Australia’s Alexei Popyrin. The Bulgarian player had lost both the previous two sets and was even losing the third one when the incident took place.

Grigor Dimitrov suffered from a foot injury during the third set of the match. He could not walk properly and thus, decided to walk off the court.

There was a point when the Bulgarian player even decided to take help from his physio as he was not able to walk. He even took a towel and tried to somewhat recover himself but that was not good enough. As a result, his opponent, Alexei Popyrin got a walkover and advanced to third round of the US Open 2021.

It is not the first time when Dimitrov had to retire during a Grand Slam. Before this, he retired in the middle of his first round match against Marcos Giron at the French Open 2021 because of a back injury.

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Grigor Dimitrov lost two close tie-breakers against Alexei Popyrin at the US Open 2021

Before getting injured, Dimitrov exhibited some great skills and gave a pretty decent fight to Popyrin. The match witnessed two tie-breaker and unfortunately, the Bulgarian player lost both of them. Intriguingly, the final scoreline of both the tie-breakers was 7-4.

Dimitrov became quite frustrated in the third set. He even smashed his racquet and as he was not able to return the service of the Australian effectively. Popyrin broke twice and was leading 4-0 in the set before Dimitrov retired.

Fans hope that Grigor Dimitrov recovers soon and returns to the court as quickly as possible. Will he be able to make a comeback before the end of the 2021 tennis season?

Also Read: “Humbling Feeling”: Grigor Dimitrov Explains Why Does He Live in Monaco