No one progresses through a tournament like this without a few obstacles," Cahill reflects on Dimitrov's withdrawal that saved Sinner at Wimbledon

Jannik Sinner’s run at Wimbledon could have ended a week ago when the world No. 1 faced Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round.

The Bulgarian, on a great day, was leading two sets to love on Centre Court against one of the favorites for the title. But after four games played in the fourth set, Dimitrov was forced to retire due to a right pectoral injury.

A small miracle for Sinner, who was also struggling that day with discomfort in his right elbow. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Darren Cahill revisited the match that changed the tournament’s trajectory for his player:

"He got a bit lucky. But he was starting to find his rhythm. In best-of-five matches, you never know what can happen. In the player’s box, we were convinced he could turn things around, and we felt he was beginning to play the way we wanted.

Anything can happen on grass. If Grigor had kept playing at that level, he would have had a good chance to close out the match. We kept telling Jannik that in a Grand Slam, there are seven best-of-five matches. No one progresses through a tournament without a few obstacles—whether it’s an injury, a bit of luck, or overcoming an early-round challenge.

Every player has their own Grand Slam story. Maybe this would have been his. Our job was to focus on his next opponent. If you beat him, you move on. That’s what he did. It’s the same way he handled his loss in the Roland-Garros final. He understood the reason for that defeat, he knew he played an incredible match but was beaten by someone better on the day.