Novak Djokovic withdraws from French Open due to right knee injury

PARIS– PARIS (AP) — Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open with a knee injury on Tuesday, ending his title defense and meaning he will give up his top spot in the rankings.

The tournament announced the news, saying that Djokovic has a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. The extent of the injury was found during an MRI scan, a day after Djokovic was injured during an accident. fourth round victory against #23 Francisco Cerundolo which lasted five series spread over more than 4 and a half hours.

O 24-time Grand Slam champion was supposed to face No. 7 Casper Ruud, the runner-up each of the last two years at Roland Garros, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Instead, Ruud reaches the semifinals, where he will face either No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 11 Alex de Minaur.

With Djokovic, owner of three French Open titles, out of the bracket, and Rafael Nadal – owner of a record 14 – eliminated in the first round, someone will hold the French Open men’s trophy for the first time on Sunday.

The remaining group of competitors includes current #2 Jannik Sinnera 22-year-old Italian who defeated number 10 Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals and is now guaranteed to replace Djokovic at the top of the ATP rankings next week.

Sinner won the Australian Open in January and is the first man from his country to reach the top spot.

“Seeing Novak (injured) is, for everyone, disappointing,” Sinner said, “so I wish him a speedy recovery.”

Amid a season in which Djokovic is just 18-6 and hasn’t reached the final of any tournament, let alone won one, he needed to get back into title contention at the French Open to continue to build on his record for the most part. of weeks. #1.

For years and years, Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer ruled men’s tennis as the so-called Big Three, accumulating a total of 66 major championships between them. But Federer, now 42, is retired, and Nadal, who turned 38 on Monday, is trying to figure out how much longer he can compete after missing most of the last 1 1/2 seasons due to injuries.

No one yet knows how long Djokovic, 37, will be sidelined or what effect that might have on his future, if any.

Wimbledon, where he has won seven titles, begins on July 1, and tennis competition at the Paris Olympics begins at Roland Garros on July 27.

Djokovic’s knee had been bothering him for a few weeks before he arrived in Paris for the French Open – something he kept to himself until after his victory over Cerundolo. Early in Monday’s second set, Djokovic twisted his knee and took a medical break. A trainer worked on the joint at that time and during subsequent exchanges, and Djokovic took what he said a tournament doctor told him was the maximum dose of pills allowed to ease the pain and reduce any inflammation.

“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow – or the day after tomorrow, if I will be able to get on the court and play,” Djokovic said on Monday night. “You know, I hope so. Let’s see what happens.”

Djokovic trailed two sets to one and lost 4-2 in the fourth set against Cerundolo before increasing his level of play once the medication took effect.

“I was,” Djokovic said afterwards, “maybe three or four points away from losing this match.”

Yes, he resisted and, yes, he came back to win – it was his 370th victory in a Grand Slam match, tied for the most with Federer in tennis history – but it was costly. And Djokovic said on Monday that he thought this could have been avoided if the clay inside the Philippe Chatrier Court had been better looked after.

Both in that match – and during its 4 1/2 hours victory in the third round, which ended at 3am on Sunday – Djokovic tried to get chair umpires to sweep the court more frequently to improve traction.

“I mean, today I got hurt. Yes, I survived. I won the match. Excellent. But will I be able to play the next one?” he said, slamming his palms on the table for emphasis. “I don’t know. I don’t know how serious the injury was. But could this injury have been avoided? Possibly, if there was a little more frequent care on the court during the set.”

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