Novak Djokovic forced to withdraw from French Open as knee injury confirmed
Join Our Sport Newsletter For Cycling To Boxing News
Get The Latest Sports News With Our Free Email
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the French Open because of injuring his knee during the match with Francisco Cerundolo on Monday that he won in the fourth round.
On Tuesday afternoon, the 37-year-old sportsman had a MRI scan in Paris. Sadly, the current champion is now unable to compete in his quarter-final against Casper Ruud tomorrow.
Djokovic recently underwent a scan that showed a tear in the medial meniscus of his right knee. Due to this injury, there's uncertainty surrounding his participation in the Wimbledon tournament scheduled to commence on July 1st. The tennis star has won 24 grand slams in his career so far.
Due to Djokovic's decision to withdraw, a fresh victor will be crowned at the men's French Open this week. Furthermore, Italian tennis player Jannik Sinner is set to seize the title of World No 1 on Monday.
During the beginning of the second set against Cerundolo, Djokovic accidentally slipped on the court. This resulted in him feeling a lot of discomfort and he had to take a medical break. However, after taking the strongest dose of painkillers that were permitted, he proceeded to play. Despite being at a disadvantage, Djokovic persevered and managed to win after five sets and almost five hours of play.
Djokovic held the condition of the court responsible for his injury. He argued that the clay surface was overly slick and that the ground staff should have cleared it during the games. Despite having already played a five-set game against Lorenzo Musetti, which ended at 3am on Sunday, Djokovic returned to the court just one and a half days later.
Following his victory against Cerundolo, Djokovic mentioned that he had been struggling with an injury for a few weeks. However, the situation worsened after he slipped on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Earlier this month, Djokovic had a strong desire to win his fourth French Open title and grab his 25th singles grand slam record. He had previously beaten Ruud from Norway in the final match of last year's tournament, and was ready to face him again in the quarterfinals.
Djokovic's sudden departure from the tournament confirms that he hasn't been able to clinch any championship in the year 2024, and the magnitude of his injury - as affirmed in a statement by the French Open - might have a considerable impact on the rest of his season.
Next month, Djokovic aimed to clinch his eighth Wimbledon championship, with the Olympic Games following in Paris. Winning an Olympic title is the only major achievement in tennis that has eluded Djokovic, even though he is the most successful male player of all time. By the time the next Games take place in Los Angeles, Djokovic will be 41 years old.
Djokovic was required to safeguard his French Open championship to maintain his position as the World No 1, but now, the 22-year-old Sinner has taken over. The Italian was victorious against Djokovic during the Australian Open in January, and he has now achieved another milestone by being the first Italian to hold the top spot in the rankings.
Djokovic dropping out of the competition implies that Ruud, who has appeared in the French Open finals twice before, will advance to the semi-finals. He will go against either Alexander Zverev or Alex de Minaur in his next match. Over on the other side, Sinner will compete against either Carlos Alcaraz or Stefanos Tsitsipas to get a chance to be in the final on Sunday.
Sinner was informed that Djokovic was backing out of the game while he was dominating over Grigor Dimitrov. It was then that he learned that he had taken over as the new World No 1. During a post-match interview, Sinner expressed his excitement, stating, "This is a significant moment for me."
To begin with, it is the aspiration of all individuals to become the top-ranked in the world. However, witnessing Novak withdrawing from the competition is disheartening. I hope that he recuperates quickly.
