Grigor Dimitrov robbed of €70,000 watch in Barcelona

Grigor Dimitrov became the victim of a terrible robbery incident when his €70,000 ($76,000) watch was ripped off his hand by thieves on motorcycles in Barcelona.

Following his third-round exit from the 2023 Monte-Carlo Masters, Dimitrov made his way to Barcelona to contest the ATP 500 Barcelona Open title. In 2022, the Bulgarian battled past Federico Coria in a tight three-sets encounter before falling to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round of the Barcelona Open.

On Friday, April 14 at 9:30 pm local time, Grigor Dimitrov was making his way back from training, driving along the Avenida Sarrià in Barcelona when he was targeted by two muggers on motorcycles. The thieves allegedly closed the 31-year-old's rearview mirror, forcing him to extend his arm out of the car to adjust it. When he did so, the thieves snatched his luxury Bianchet watch off his wrist before speeding away.

The World No. 25 filed a report with the Barcelona police who have opened an investigation into the incident. He valued the watch at €70,000 in the report filed with the police.

Following a bye in the first round, Grigor Dimitrov will take on the winner of the match between Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Emilio Gomez at the 2023 Barcelona Open.

How Grigor Dimitrov has fared so far this season

Dimitrov at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters

Grigor Dimitrov started his 2023 season by competing at the Australian Open. He breezed past Aslan Karatsev and Laslo Djere in straight sets before losing his third-round match against eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

The Bulgarian secured his best result of the season so far at the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam, reaching the semifinals before he was defeated by Daniil Medvedev. Competing at the Open 13 Provence next, the World No. 25 was unable to get past Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals.

Dimitrov had a disappointing outing at the Sunshine Double. The former World No. 3 was trailing 0-3 in the deciding set of his opening match against Jason Kubler at the Indian Wells Masters when he was forced to retire due to injury. At the Miami Open, the 31-year-old came through after a tough fight against Jan-Lennard Struff in his first match before losing to eventual finalist Jannik Sinner in straight sets.

Grigor Dimitrov competed at the recently concluded Monte-Carlo Masters next, where he made a strong start to his campaign with a win over Ben Shelton. However, he was unable to progress further in the tournament as he lost his subsequent match against Jiri Lehecka in straight sets.