Tennis Star Grigor Dimitrov Carried Off Court After Miami Open Victory
Tennis sensation Grigor Dimitrov faced a dramatic moment after his intense quarter-final match against Francisco Cerundolo at the Miami Open, where he was ultimately carried off the court. This incident unfolded shortly after Emma Raducanu expressed feelings of dizziness and faintness during her last-eight battle against Jessica Pegula earlier in the week.
Dimitrov, the Bulgarian player, managed to secure a hard-fought victory, winning the match with scores of 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3) after an exhausting two hours and 48 minutes of play. The match was a real test of endurance, as it went to three sets, and Dimitrov even saved a match point to notch his 150th win at the ATP Masters 1000 level. He found himself down 3-0 in the deciding set but demonstrated remarkable resilience to fight back and claim the win.
As the match concluded, Dimitrov crashed into his seat, visibly exhausted. Following a cordial exchange with Cerundolo, he requested that tournament officials postpone his on-court interview. Shortly after, he sought medical assistance, appearing to suffer from severe cramps and breathing heavily. Medical personnel promptly attended to him, checking his blood pressure and providing the necessary treatment before assisting him off the court.
In the wake of this incident, tennis legend Martina Navratilova commented, “I’ve never seen a player collapse after a match they have won. He was running on fumes at the end of the second set. The fact that he was still able to win while feeling this way was an extraordinary testament to his emotional and physical strength.” Navratilova praised Dimitrov’s fighting spirit, noting, “What an amazing effort from Grigor. He was down and just kept coming back. Cerundolo looked much less tired, and I would have backed him to win, but Grigor did it.”
Dimitrov now has a day to recover as his next opponent, Sebastian Korda, awaits the outcome of a postponed quarter-final match against Novak Djokovic. Due to ATP and WTA regulations, matches cannot commence later than 11:00 PM local time without special permission, which contributed to the delay.
Meanwhile, Jessica Pegula, seeded fourth in the tournament, ended Emma Raducanu’s impressive run with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2 victory. Raducanu faced her own challenges during the match, experiencing dizziness towards the end of the second set. Despite undergoing medical care, which included a blood test, she managed to continue playing but ultimately succumbed in the third set.
Reflecting on her experience, the 22-year-old Raducanu shared, “I just felt really dizzy. I felt faint. I don’t know, it was very humid out there, and we had a long wait. So maybe it was just an accumulation of fatigue, especially with the physicality of the points and the long rallies in these heavy conditions.”
