Sometimes matches unfold with such a stunning series of events, they defy belief. In his fourth round match against Grigor Dimitrov, Jannik Sinner appeared en route to a shock defeat, having jarred his elbow during an innocuous-looking slide to the ground in the very first game.

But with Dimitrov leading by two sets, the No.19 seed collapsed to the turf holding the pectoral muscle beneath his right arm.

He had just held serve for 2-2, but early in that game it was clear that he was in discomfort, and by the time he finished the game, he was almost weeping with pain.

Treatment was attempted but nothing could be done. With Dimitrov barely able to lift his serving arm, he was forced to retire injured. Unbelievably, it is the fifth successive Grand Slam where he has been compelled to withdraw mid-match.

So it is Sinner who goes through to the quarter-finals, where he will face the big-serving American Ben Shelton.

“I don’t take this as a win at all,” Sinner told the Centre Court crowd. “He has been so unlucky in the past couple of years. He has struggled a lot with injury and seeing him have this again is very tough. 

"He is a good friend of mine. We all saw from his reaction how much he cares. He is one of the most hard-working players on tour. This is not the end we wanted to see. We all wish him only the best. Let’s give all our applause for him.”

The reverse suffered by Dimitrov was almost incomprehensibly cruel. For two hours, it had seemed that the pivotal moment of the match had taken place in the very first game, a six-minute hold of serve by the Bulgarian. At deuce, Sinner lost his footing.

There was no immediate indication of any problem, yet the Italian’s serve – impenetrable throughout 36 service games in the previous three rounds – cracked immediately. Far from taking charge at the start of the second set, he lost all eight opening points.

At the 2-3 changeover the trainer came on. During a medical timeout Sinner took a painkiller, wincing as the problem area was massaged. It helped somewhat, as he foiled Dimitrov’s first attempt to serve for a two-set lead. But the Bulgarian simply broke again, and this time he would not be denied.

The 34-year-old had lost his last 12 matches against world No.1s. Once the Centre Court roof was closed as evening fell between the second and third sets, the match resumed and it seemed Sinner had a mountain to climb.

On a day when the Royal Box guests included eight-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer, to whom “Baby Fed” Dimitrov’s style of play was likened in his early days on tour, the Bulgarian seemed set for his first quarter-final here since 2014.

It was not to be. Under extraordinary circumstances his Wimbledon is over, and it is Sinner who goes through.

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