TENNIS star Grigor Dimitrov was carried off the court after beating Francisco Cerundolo in their quarter-final clash at the Miami Open.
It came after Emma Raducanu felt “faint” and “dizzy” during her last-eight defeat to Jessica Pegula on Wednesday.
Dimitrov saved a match point to secure a 150th match win at the ATP Masters 1000, winning 6-7 (6) 6-4, 7-6 (3).
He fell 3-0 behind in the decider and appeared to be close to defeat, but found a way to battle back.
The gruelling match that finally came to an end after two hours and 48 minutes as the Bulgarian sealed a semi-final against the winner of Novak Djokovic and Sebastian Korda.
After sharing a warm exchange with Cerundolo, Dimitrov could be heard asking tournament officials to delay his on-court interview.
The 33-year-old then asked for medical assistance after sinking into his chair courtside.
He appeared to be suffering from cramps, was drawing big breaths and after a lengthy period of treatment.
Medics checked his blood pressure readings and helped Dimitrov off the court.
Tennis icon Martina Navratilova said: “I’ve never seen a player collapse after the 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 when he was feeling this lousing was an amazing emotional and physical effort.
“What an amazing effort from Grigor. He was down and just kept coming back.
“Cerundollo looked much less tired and I would have backed him to win, but Grigor did it.”
Dimitrov has a day to recover as Korda’s quarter-final with Djokovic was postponed after organisers ran out of time.
According to ATP and WTA rules, matches are not allowed to start later than 23:00 local time without special approval.
Meanwhile, Pegula, the No.4 seed, ended Raducanu’s impressive run in the competition with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-2 win.
There were brief medical concerns for Raducanu late in the second set as she suffered from a bout of dizziness.
But she continued after some medical treatment, which included having her blood taken, and played the third set.
Recalling her dizziness, the 22-year-old said: “I just felt really dizzy. I felt faint.
“I don’t know, it was very humid out there and we have a long wait.
“So maybe just an accumulation, and just physical points as well and there were long rallies and heavy conditions.”
Read the full article here
