LONDON: World number one Jannik Sinner insisted he "didn't think about retiring" even though he was laid low by illness during his Wimbledon quarter-final exit at the hands of Daniil Medvedev.
Sinner needed a lengthy medical timeout after feeling dizzy and appearing to almost lose his balance early in the third set of his defeat to the Russian.
The Italian then stunned the Centre Court crowd by fighting back to take the fourth set before eventually going down to a 6-7 (7/9), 6-4, 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-3 defeat.
"I was surprised that I pushed the match longer," said Sinner.
"I don't want to retire if it's only a little bit of illness. I was still in shape to play.
"Today the energy level was not consistent but I was never thinking about retiring. You don't want to retire in a quarter-final of a Grand Slam."
Medvedev avenged his Australian Open final loss to Sinner in January and goes on to face defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals.--AFP