Serbian Novak Djokovic, the defending champion and world number one in tennis, withdrew from the quarter-finals of the Roland Garros tournament, according to what the organizers of the second Grand Slam announced on Tuesday, due to an “injury to the meniscus of the right knee” discovered during an MRI.
The 37-year-old Djokovic, who was injured during his quarter-final match against Argentinian Francisco Cerondolo, which he completed using a high dose of anti-inflammatories, was scheduled to meet Norwegian Casper Ruud on Wednesday, but “was forced to withdraw,” according to a statement from the tournament organizers.
Djokovic, who was seeking to win his twenty-fifth Grand Slam title and hold the record in the amateur and professional eras, made it clear after his victory over Cerundolo 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in a marathon match that lasted four hours and 37 minutes, He is not confident of his ability to compete in the quarter-finals due to the injury he suffered in his knee after slipping in the third game of the second set.
“In recent weeks, I have felt some discomfort in my right knee, but this has nothing to do with a worrying injury,” he said after his 370th Grand Slam victory. I played with this injury in tournaments and nothing happened until today. But in the third game of the second set, I slipped, and it affected my knee.”
He added, “I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the day after, or if I will be able to enter the field and play,” explaining that his injury is related to the lack of dirt on the field and that he was forced to complete the match thanks to anti-inflammatories.
Djokovic suffered physically in the third round when he needed four hours and 29 minutes to get rid of Italian Lorenzo Mozzetti in a match that ended at 3:07 am on Sunday morning, when it became the most late match in the history of the French championship.
That day, Djokovic complained about the condition of the court’s dirt floor, and he repeated the same thing against Cerundolo, demanding that the court be mopped more regularly.
Djokovic said: “Could this injury have been avoided? “Maybe if there was more frequent maintenance of the stadium.”
Italian Jannik Sinner was the biggest beneficiary of Djokovic’s withdrawal, as he secured the top spot in the world rankings, as the Serbian had to reach the final match to ensure he remained on the throne of the yellow ball classification.
“What can I say?” Sinner said. It is everyone’s dream to become number one in the world. On the other hand, seeing Novak withdraw is very disappointing for everyone. I wish him success. “I try not to think about it too much, because it’s sad.”
On Monday, Sinner, 22 years old, will become the first Italian to top the world rankings, regardless of his result at Roland Garros, where he reached the semi-finals on Tuesday by defeating Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov X 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
Ruud, in turn, benefited from Djokovic’s withdrawal, ensuring that he reached the semi-finals scheduled for Friday without playing, and he will wait for the winner of the match between German Alexander Zverev IV or Australian Alex de Minaur XI, scheduled for Wednesday.
Djokovic spent a record 428 weeks at the top of the world rankings.
His injury at this time is remembered for his worst start to a season since 2018, when he did not win any tournament until he obtained the Wimbledon title.
The Serbian won the All England Club title seven times, one title shy of the record set by Swiss Roger Federer.