Wimbledon 2026 pages
Sports · Wimbledon 2026 · Men's Singles · Round of 32
Grigor Dimitrov vs Matteo Berrettini — 6-3 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-3
 Grigor Dimitrov✓ | 6 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 6 |
 Matteo Berrettini | 3 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 3 |
Final · Saturday, July 4, 2026 · Round of 32
Result
Dimitrov, the 146th-ranked wild card, produced the run of the tournament, outlasting Berrettini 6-3 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-3 across three and a half hours on Centre Court. Berrettini's serve did its work — 23 aces, 49 winners — but he won only 35% behind his second delivery and gave away 43 unforced errors to Dimitrov's 25, and after the Italian forced a fifth the Bulgarian broke early and served it out.
Grigor DimitrovStats: Official wimbledon.com match statistics (IBM) · as of 2026-07-09
Rows the source hadn’t published are left off rather than guessed.
At this Stage
Billed as the tie of the round, and it delivered five sets on Centre Court. Dimitrov — a 2014 semi-finalist back here on a wild card at No. 146 — beat the 2021 finalist Berrettini 6-3 6-4 3-6 5-7 6-3, weathering a middle-match surge that levelled the score before breaking early in the decider. The serve was supposed to separate them; instead it was Berrettini's second ball, punished all afternoon (35% won), and his 43 unforced errors to Dimitrov's 25. The fairytale reaches the last 16, where it collides with another from this same round: Arthur Fery, the British wild card who stunned Zizou Bergs in five. Two unlikely stories, one quarter-final berth.
Grigor Dimitrov✓Matteo BerrettiniRound of 64
Round of 32
What we know now
What I said beforehand
The preview, frozen before the first serve. Clearly dated, never rewritten — that's the deal that makes the pick worth anything.
Berrettini, but only just. This is the tie of the round for the connoisseur: a 2021 Wimbledon finalist against a 2014 semi-finalist, two of the finest grass movers of their generation, each arriving on a resurgent run. Dimitrov, back on a wild card at No. 146, has been the story, upsetting 15th seed Jakub Menšík; Berrettini survived a four-tiebreak epic with Wawrinka and then dismissed the 20th seed Arthur Fils. Their head-to-head is level at 1-1. The separator is the serve: Berrettini's is the single biggest grass weapon left in this quarter, and on a fast court it manufactures the cheap holds and short points that keep the pressure entirely on the other man. Dimitrov's variety can absolutely win it — expect a decider either way — but the Italian's first strike is the tie-breaker.
The case for Grigor Dimitrov
45% to winDimitrov is playing like the man who reached the Wimbledon semi-finals a decade ago: he outmanoeuvred a big-serving 15th seed in Menšík by returning brilliantly and staying ice-calm on the key points. His one-handed backhand and disguise are tailor-made for grass, and a wild card ranking flatters a player who, healthy, belongs far higher. If he reads the Berrettini serve the way he read Menšík's, he wins.
The case for Matteo Berrettini
55% to winBerrettini is the 2021 Wimbledon finalist and, on grass, arguably the bigger threat of the two: a serve that produces free holds by the set and a forehand that ends points before rallies begin. He came through the Wawrinka war on four tiebreaks — proof his nerve holds — then dispatched a seed. He is the higher-ranked man at No. 51 and the more recent deep runner here. On a quick Centre-Court-caliber surface, the serve wins the tightest sets.
Both cases written 2026-07-03, before the first ball — frozen into the record exactly as written, whatever the result. The percentages are mine, quoted to a decimal because false precision is funnier — and tennis has no draw to hide the rounding in.
My locked pick: Matteo Berrettini to advance ✗ WRONG
“Two grass throwbacks, split 1-1 — the bigger serve and the more recent deep run give Berrettini the edge.”
Locked 2026-07-03 13:30 UTC — rendered verbatim from the pick ledger; never a fresher, hedged version
Tale of the tape
Grigor DimitrovMatteo BerrettiniPlayer vitals: ATP Tour player profiles and Wikipedia (career records) · as of 2026-07-09.
Storylines
- A grass throwback: the 2021 finalist Berrettini against the 2014 semi-finalist Dimitrov.
- Dimitrov, back on a wild card, has already upset the 15th seed to reach this stage.
- The head-to-head is level at 1-1, and both men own huge grass-court serves.
Head to head
Level at 1-1; Berrettini won the most recent meeting 7-6(5) 7-6(1) indoors at Vienna in 2019.
Source: ATP head-to-head · as of 2026-07-03.
Court & schedule: Centre Court (TennisTemple match stats and ESPN scoreboard, as of 2026-07-04)
Venue: All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London — grass.