Call mrogi for this man, because somebody cursed him

The debate on which sports are tougher to play, team or individual, is a never-ending story. And while both stances have their reasoning, one thing has to be pointed out - when playing an individual sport, you're on your own.

You cannot be subbed out when you don't play well. If you're subpar, you lose. Simple as that. However, injuries are probably one of the most challenging aspects of individual sports, because no one can stand in for you. You can either fight through pain or give up.

And that giving up is always heartbreaking.

Saints save Sinner as he escapes almost inevitable Wimbledon loss due to rival's injury

Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov has probably felt this misery more than anyone else. Or, better said, he's been feeling it often during the past 365 days.

Namely, the 34-year-old was forced to retire yesterday from a quarter-final clash at the 2025 Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury, even though he was 2-0 up against the top-seeded Jannik Sinner. That way, he became only the third player in tennis history to forfeit a match while having such a convincing lead.

To make matters worse, it wasn't the first time Dimitrov faced such a devastating situation. On the contrary, what happened yesterday at Wimbledon marked his fifth consecutive retirement from Grand Slam tournaments and that's never happened to any player in tennis history!

Everything started in the same place exactly a year ago, on June 7, 2024, when the Bulgarian forfeited a 1/8 finals match against Daniil Medvedev, while losing 5-3 in the opening set due to an abductor tear.

Two months later, he experienced a deja vu at the US Open in New York, being forced to retire from a quarter-final duel against the home player, Frances Tiafoe. At that point, he was losing 2-1 and was 4-1 down in the fourth set. This time, a leg injury was a problem.

At the 2025 Australian Open last January, the "lucky loser" from Italy, Francesco Passaro, became even luckier when the seed #10, Dimitrov, had to withdraw from their first-round match in the second set because of hip issues.

A month and a half ago, the Bulgarian's agony continued at Roland Garros, as he experienced the same fate as in Melbourne, forfeiting the opening-round match to US player Ethan Quinn while leading 2-1 due to a thigh injury.

Finally, he faced another "groundhog day" yesterday in London, though it may be the most painful one, as he was extremely close to beating the ATP ranking leader.

If he manages to recover, Dimitrov will undoubtedly play at the 2025 US Open (August 24 - September 7), though he'll have only one wish in mind, and that won't be the title or reaching the late stages of the tournament. He'll only hope he won't be forced to forfeit the match again.