Grigor Dimitrov Makes Cheeky Jannik Sinner Comment After Discussion With Umpire on Wimbledon Roof

Grigor Dimitrov showed his frustration mid-match over the closure of the roof of Court 1 during his second-round tie against Jakub Mensik at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships. The Bulgarian star recounted, while speaking to the umpire, that the closed roof resulted in a pectoral injury last year against Jannik Sinner.

Dimitrov will never forget what happened during his match against Sinner at the Center Court last year. He was leading in two sets in the round of 16 and was set to cause a major upset of the tournament before the roof was closed as darkness approached. A few minutes later, he slipped and suffered a pectoral injury.

Sinner went on to win the Wimbledon title despite being on the verge of defeat against Dimitrov. But Dimitrov was forced to retire from their clash and spent a significant time on the sidelines and contemplated retiring from the sport. Fast forward to Thursday (July 2), Dimitrov had just claimed the third set against Mensik and was looking set to win the clash before the Court 1 roof began to be closed.

There was an interruption to the match to close the roof, and during that period, Dimitrov vented his frustration at the umpire and his team, who were also displeased with the actions of those in charge. Dimitrov then compared the situation to his last year’s Wimbledon clash against Sinner:

We knew that we’re not going to finish the match. Just a question, why didn’t we start closing the roof during the set? Now it’s like a similar issue to last year. My point is that if you see that you know it’s not going to finish, it doesn’t harm both of the players to start closing the roof, right? Why don’t we let the players decide on that? That’s the rules here. I don’t know. We can ask the referee. I know that here the procedure is…

However, Dimitrov overcame his frustration and focused on the match. Having won the first and third sets, he made sure to start the fourth set by breaking Mensik early. He went on to win the match 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, securing his place in the third round of the grass-court Grand Slam.

It is worth noting that Dimitrov was handed a wildcard by the Wimbledon organizers after he dropped outside the Top 100 following months on the sidelines. He has proven how much the opportunity means to him by beating Dane Sweeny in the first round and, in the second, Mensik, who has been a fantastic player over the past month.

Grigor Dimitrov reveals why he yelled at the umpire mid-match in his match against Jakub Mensik

Grigor Dimitrov had admitted that after suffering the pectoral injury last year, his body was never the same. He had returned to the court enthusiastic but couldn’t meet the required fitness. But these two wins at Wimbledon have now given him the needed confidence going into the third round against Matteo Berrettini.

However, the interruption that led to the Court 1 roof closing during Dimitrov’s match against Jakub Mensik represented something to the Bulgarian star. When asked afterward why he was shouting toward his player box and the umpire as the roof was being closed, the 35-year-old admitted that it was impossible to forget last year’s injury at the All England Club:

Yeah, indeed. I got broken in the first game of the fourth set, so that was not a great start. Listen, of course I looked up four or five times. I was hoping I was gonna finish the match before the roof was about to close again. It was almost like déjà vu. All you can do is just smile at that. What happened in the past stays there. Embrace what comes next whether it’s good or bad. Today was all about that.

Dimitrov’s victory over Mensik carried a huge significance, well beyond reaching the third round, because Mensik was the favorite to win the tie. In fact, Mensik had reached the semi-finals of the French Open last month, a run that saw him beat the likes of Andrey Rublev and Joao Fonseca.

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