London, July 5 (IANS) Grigor Dimitrov transformed his heartbreak last year at Wimbledon into a memorable victory when he dug deep to outlast 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini of Italy in a thrilling five-set victory to advance to the fourth round at the All-England Club in London.

Dimitrov won 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3 in their third round clash against Berrettini in their third round clash.

Returning to Centre Court for the first time since suffering a devastating pectoral injury against Jannik Sinner in last year’s fourth round, when he retired after leading by two sets to none, Dimitrov delivered a resilient performance, this time to leave the court with a victory, raising his arms in disbelief after sealing the win.

“After last year, the way I exited, I would have never known what would have happened,” Dimitrov shared in his on-court interview. “But guess what? I am back here and able to rewrite everything… I am just trying. It is not [only] about winning or losing, it is about overcoming every obstacle that I have in front of me,” he was quoted as saying by ATP Tour.

The Bulgarian’s journey back has been anything but straightforward. After the injury, Dimitrov did not return to the Tour until late October in Paris, where his comeback ended with a withdrawal ahead of his second-round match. The 35-year-old then managed only two tour-level wins midway through June 2026.

In the lead-up to the season’s third major, Dimitrov earned two wins at the ATP Challenger in Dublin before reaching the quarterfinals at the ATP 250 event in Mallorca. The No. 146 player in the ATP Rankings has carried that form at SW19 to secure his place in the fourth round of the grass-court major.

On Saturday, the Bulgarian wild card came out firing, dictating play with his aggressive serving and clean ball-striking to earn a two-set lead. Berrettini fought back to force a decider, but Dimitrov broke the Italian’s serve once in the fifth set, closing out a three-hour, 32-minute victory to book his place in the fourth round, according to a report by the ATP Tour on its official website.

With this triumph, Dimitrov earned a 2-1 lead in the pair’s ATP head-to-head series. The 35-year-old will next play fellow wild card Arthur Fery, who also earned a five-set win Saturday when he rallied to defeat Zizou Bergs 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-5) in four hours and 39 minutes, advancing to the fourth round at a major for the first time.

With both Fery and Dimitrov in the fourth round, it will be the fourth time that two wild cards have made the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam tournament, and the first time since Roland Garros in 2002 (Arnaud Di Pasquale and Paul-Henri Mathieu).

–IANS

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