Wimbledon 2026: Eala beats Joint to set up Swiatek clash | Dimitrov & Struff emotional wins

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**Fergus** (0:55)
Good afternoon, good evening, good morning to everyone tuning in. It is Wimbledon day four, three, four. I've completely lost, four, completely lost myself. I'm joined today by Valdez. How you doing, Valdez?

**Valdez** (1:12)
And you.

**Fergus** (1:15)
Good, and I'm joined by Matt, who is, I believe, new to the show, so welcome, Matt.

**Matt** (1:20)
Thanks for having me.

**Fergus** (1:22)
No worries, no worries. We will start with maybe, probably, I would say, the most heartwarming storyline of the day, in Grigor Dimitrov, as he managed to replicate some of his magic from years gone by against Jakub Mensic, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.
Matt, how big is this for Grigor, considering the season that he's had, the points that he's defending, you know, how big last year could have been, you know, with all the factors coming into this one match?

**Matt** (1:56)
Well, you know, I think Grigor said it all after the match with his response emotionally and with the words that he said, you know, he's, we all know this, right? He's been through the wringer, one of the unluckiest players in men's tennis, you know, in this century. Obviously, Juan Martin del Potro, more unlucky if you had to compare, but Grigor is certainly up there. And what's also interesting is that he plays Matteo Baratini, also another, you know, body made of glass professional, just all this immense talent. But can he stay healthy? Can he stay on the court? And so, you know, amazing for Dimitrov, you know, to save double digit breakpoints, to continue to respond to big moments consistently.
So it's an immense moment. And it's a reminder for all of us who talk about tennis, you know, of course we're going to focus on who's going to make the semifinals, who's going to make the final, who's going to lift the trophy. But we're reminded all the time that, you know, winning a second round or a third round match, you know, just kind of getting back into the mix, being one of the last 16, being one of the last 32 can mean so much for players in various circumstances. You know, Dimitrov, if he loses here, you know, he gets forgotten, and we're not talking about him. But to be able to come through just like a big time match at Wimbledon on a show court, it felt big for him. And you know what, it should.
I mean, he deserved that kind of emotional reaction. And we sometimes talk about, you know, why are you doing a snow angel after you went a first round match? But in different positions, in different circumstances, life moments really mean a lot. And Grigor's emotions just very naturally, like this was authentic. There's nothing manufactured here. It was a very authentic moment of triumph for someone who has been through so much. He certainly deserved to be able to pour out these emotions and have this kind of experience. It meant a lot to him, clearly.

**Fergus** (4:03)
Absolutely. And I just want to focus on how good Grigor was from one three and the fourth, right? You know, he was unbelievable, Valdez.

**Valdez** (4:16)
He really was. And I think we saw that performance against Sinner. And I would say a player like Jakub Mencic, who is really in that mold of trying to overpower Grigor, especially and really utilize his backhand and really use a sort of a hard court game on the grass courts. But he really showcases his grass court talents, drawing Mencic in, doing the slices on the backhand and the forehand, mixing up the pace. And those two passing shots he made to break. And he was really spectacular in those moments. And that really showcased sort of why we're going to love him all these years. And I think there was a moment when he was returning serve, I think when he got the penultimate break point, the penultimate break to serve out the match, he slid and he did the slits and for a moment there I got scared. I was like, oh no, no, no, no.