Grigor Dimitrov sparked controversy during his titanic second round match with Grega Zemlja when he slipped to concede match point, then stormed to his chair claiming Court No 3 was ‘unplayable’.
Resuming at 8-9 in the fifth set, the Bulgarian fell after serving at 30-all and was unable to regain his footing to retrieve his Slovenian opponent’s return.No 29 seed Dimitrov, being watched by his girlfriend Maria Sharapova, grabbed his hamstring then walked off court, and was heard to complain to American umpire Ali Nili: ‘This court is unplayable’.
Come on: Grigor Dimitrov stormed to his chair after slipping to concede match point on Court Three
He refused to return for the crucial point, forcing Zemlja to join him on the sidelines and Nili to inspect the grass where the fall occurred.
There was light rainfall but the majority of spectators kept their umbrellas down during an 11-minute break as the court was repeatedly checked. The players covered themselves with towels.
Brad Gilbert tweeted: ‘Wow what a place to stop at matchpoint down 8-9 30-40 for showtime Dimitrov vs Zemlja’.
Eventually Dimitrov and Zemlja resumed with a three-minute knock-up, then played the match point, which the 22-year-old won as Zemlja hit the net.
There was light rainfall but the majority of spectators kept their umbrellas down during an 11-minute break as the court was repeatedly checked. The players covered themselves with towels.
Brad Gilbert tweeted: ‘Wow what a place to stop at matchpoint down 8-9 30-40 for showtime Dimitrov vs Zemlja’.
Eventually Dimitrov and Zemlja resumed with a three-minute knock-up, then played the match point, which the 22-year-old won as Zemlja hit the net.
Faller: Dimitrov went on to lose the match to Greg Zemlja in his second round match at Wimbledon
Dimitrov conceded and saved two more match points before eventually taking the game, but in his next service game he was broken at the first attempt to hand the victory to Zemlja 3-6, 7-6, 3-6, 6-4, 11-9.
The incident comes two days after Sharapova, who was in the stands wearing sunglasses, fell repeatedly on Court 2 and called the surface ‘dangerous’.
Dimitrov defended his actions afterwards. He said: 'It started raining during the warm-up. I kind of thought the chairman would say something. When I slipped, I fell down, I hit my hip. I told him: "I'm not serving".
'Basically we had to stop and wait for another chance. You sit down, you're aching a little bit, you've got to serve to stay in the match. It's not easy. I think there's tons of thoughts coming into your head.'
The incident comes two days after Sharapova, who was in the stands wearing sunglasses, fell repeatedly on Court 2 and called the surface ‘dangerous’.
Dimitrov defended his actions afterwards. He said: 'It started raining during the warm-up. I kind of thought the chairman would say something. When I slipped, I fell down, I hit my hip. I told him: "I'm not serving".
'Basically we had to stop and wait for another chance. You sit down, you're aching a little bit, you've got to serve to stay in the match. It's not easy. I think there's tons of thoughts coming into your head.'
Watching brief: Maria Sharapova watched her boyfriend from the stands before making a hasty exit
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