Grigor Dimitrov has spoken out after being forced to retire from his Wimbledon showdown with Jannik Sinner at the start of the week. The Bulgarian led Sinner 6-3, 7-5, 2-2 in the fourth round clash before suffering a partial tear of his pectoral muscle. He then spent time in hospital after picking up the injury.

Dimitrov has endured a torrid time with injuries and had been forced to retire during matches at each of his last four Grand Slam appearances. But he produced a sparking run at SW19 given his recent fitness setbacks as he overcame Yoshihito Nishioka, Corentin Moutet and Sebastian Ofner in his first three matches. The 34-year-old then appeared to have the beating of Sinner, who himself was struggling with an elbow issue during their showdown. But after the players had been given a short break while the Centre Court roof was closed at the end of the second set, Dimitrov was seen holding his pec muscle. And he was unable to continue as Sinner progressed to the quarter-finals.

Dimitrov could be forced to miss three tournaments as he attempts to overcome his latest injury. He may then face a race against time to be fit for the US Open, which begins at Flushing Meadows in late August.

And in an emotional message on Instagram on Friday morning, the veteran penned: “Sometimes the heart wants to keep going… but the universe has a different plan for us. Having to withdraw from this match at Wimbledon was one of the most painful moments of my career.

“Thank you for the overwhelming wave of love - from family, friends, fans, colleagues, to the entire tennis community… your messages have genuinely lifted me through these hard times. Thank you all. Truly. Recovery starts now. I’ll see you all soon.”

The player accompanied the post with two action pictures from Wimbledon, as well as a snap from his hospital bed as he tucked into a delicious-looking pasta dish.

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Following Dimitrov’s retirement on Monday, Sinner told the Wimbledon crowd in his on-court interview: “I don’t know what to say because he is an incredible player.

“I think we all saw this today, and he’s been so unlucky in the past couple of years and incredible player, good friend of mine, also we understand each other very well off the court too.

“Seeing him in this position honestly, you know, if there would be a chance that he could play the next round, he would deserve [it]. But now mostly I hope he has a speedy recovery.”

And Dimitrov's coach Jamie Delgado told the BBC on Tuesday: “Completely gutted, disappointed, heartbroken.

“The work he’s put in to get to this stage and play matches like that against someone like Sinner - it’s really hard to take.

“It’s getting harder to pick yourself up after these lows. This is the tournament he looks forward to the most. He loves the surface, the setting, the history - he even feels half-British.”