Jannik Sinner sent bleak message by Grigor Dimitrov before Wimbledon showdown

Grigor Dimitrov has told Jannik Sinner that he is yet to experience 'the bad side of life' ahead of their Wimbledon fourth-round meeting. The veteran is taking on the up-and-comer on Centre Court for a place in the quarter-finals, and 23-year-old Sinner is the overwhelming favourite.

One edge 34-year-old Dimitrov thinks he has on Sinner, however, is the psychological advantage of experiencing the good and the bad tennis has to offer. And that's despite Sinner suffering a heart-breaking comeback defeat against Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open last month.

With a message aimed at Sinner and his archrival Alcaraz, Dimitrov said: "If you think about it, the two guys, they're the best two players right now. They've clearly won the Slams and everything.

"Also, for me, it's very interesting to look at it from a very different perspective in a sense that you have two young players who don't know what failure is yet. They've never lost. The experience of life matters a lot. They haven't seen the bad side of life, in a way.

"It's nothing against them, they're the two greatest players at the moment by far, by far. But if you look at it also a little bit from psychological points of view and the environment that they're in and everything, with all due respect, they were playing the final [in Paris] and neither one of them had ever lost the final of a Slam."

Dimitrov, who turned professional in 2007, has been around the block. With three semi-final appearances the highlight of his Grand Slam CV, he can't compete with Sinner or Alcaraz in terms of accolades.

But he has been as high as three in the world. And over the course of a career which has spanned nearly two decades, he has learned the effects that age and experience have on a player.

"With age, we all know that fear comes very differently," he explained. "It creeps in. It's not even about being fearless. It's about exploring your opportunities. And they just go for those opportunities. But I think with time, let's see how everything else would unfold."

Sinner has been in dominant form at Wimbledon this year, making it to the fourth round without dropping a set. But Dimitrov has also been impressive, with his run to the round of 16 featuring two three-set thrashings and a four-setter against Corentin Moutet.