World No 1 Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the French Open ahead of his quarter-final match due to a knee injury.
Top seed and defending champion Djokovic was scheduled to play Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Norwegian seventh seed Ruud will therefore progress straight to the semi-finals.
Djokovic’s withdrawal ends his quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam trophy and will result in him losing the world No 1 ranking to Italian Jannik Sinner later this month.
In a statement released on Instagram, Djokovic said: “I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros.
“I played with my heart and gave my all in yesterday’s match and unfortunately, due to a medial meniscus tear in my right knee, my team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.
“I wish the best of luck to the players competing this week and sincerely thank the incredible fans for all of the love and continued support.”
It is unclear how long the injury will keep Djokovic out of action and whether the Serb will be fit for Wimbledon, which starts on July 1.
Djokovic had been dealing with a knee injury for weeks and needed anti-inflammatory tablets during Tuesday’s second set of his five-set victory over Francisco Cerundolo.
The 37-year-old slipped on the court and began grimacing and rubbing his right knee before receiving medical attention several times, telling the physio: “I screwed up my knee. I’m slipping and sliding all the time.”
Four games later, having asked for the court to be swept, he complained to a tournament supervisor about the state of the surface, saying: “I’m telling you as a player, it’s not OK.”
After the game, Djokovic said: “For the last couple weeks I have had slight discomfort, I would call it, in the right knee, but I haven’t had an injury that would be concerning me at all. I was playing a few tournaments with it, and had no issues until today.
“Of course, [the] late finish from a few nights ago didn’t help the sleeping, the biorhythm, and recovery. But I actually felt great coming into the match – as good as I could under the circumstances – and played really well first set. Then in the third game of the second set, I slipped, one of the many times that I slipped and fell today. That affected the knee.”
Henman: Djokovic withdrawal ‘hugely disappointing’
Djokovic revealed after his last-16 victory he was unsure whether he would be able to continue at the tournament, although Sky Sports analyst Tim Henman was surprised that he was unable to return for his quarter-final.
“We’ve seen in Australia a couple of times with the pulled stomach muscle that he kept talking about, but he kept playing and went on to win the tournament,” Henman told Eurosport. “He had a problem with his hamstring there and he kept playing. So for me, I just felt this like was precautionary.
Djokovic had been favourite to win a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title
“I very much expected him to bounce back, as we’ve seen so many times. It came as a huge shock to me. When you hear that there may be a tear in the meniscus – that’s a serious injury so that’s hugely disappointing for Djokovic.”
On the challenges of tournament scheduling, Henman added: “When some of these matches are finishing at two o’clock, three o’clock in the morning, it’s not good for the players and it’s not good for everyone. The scheduling is absolutely critical.
“When you take into account he [Djokovic] has played two matches and has played over nine hours of tennis, and when you add to that very late into the night, into the following morning, I think that’s putting an enormous strain on players physically and mentally.”
Will Djokovic be fit for Wimbledon?
Wimbledon takes place between July 1 and July 14, where Djokovic lost 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in last year’s final to Carlos Alcaraz.
Boris Becker, Eurosport pundit and Djokovic’s former coach, fears for his chances of competing at Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion.
Becker said: “It’s a serious injury and it won’t go away tomorrow. That leaves me a bit speechless. You need your knees on grass, you really do slip all the time. A torn medial meniscus is a serious injury and the question naturally arises as to whether surgery is necessary.”
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis?
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- Stuttgart Open (ATP 250 with Andy Murray in action) – June 10-16
- Rosmalen Open (ATP/WTA 250) – June 10-16
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