Defending champion Novak Djokovic was forced to withdraw from the French Open after tearing his medial meniscus during a dramatic five-set victory over Argentina’s 23rd seed Francisco Cernudolo on Monday.
“It is with great sadness that I announce that I must withdraw from Roland Garros,” Djokovic said in a statement on social media. “I played with all my heart and gave it my all in yesterday’s match, but unfortunately I have torn the medial meniscus in my right knee and after careful consideration and consultation, my team and I have had to make the difficult decision.”
“We wish our players the best of luck this week and would like to extend a huge thank you to our incredible fans for their love and continued support.”
Djokovic was leading by one set on Court Philippe Chatrier when he slipped on the court and hurt his knee. After receiving treatment, the 37-year-old was highly critical of the state of the courts at Roland Garros. He believed that rain and bad weather had affected the courts, wearing away the top layer of clay and making them very slippery. In a conversation with tournament director Wayne McEwen, Djokovic expressed frustration that the courts were not cleaned more frequently.
“It seems like they removed a little bit of the clay, so there was very little clay on the court today,” he said. “The dry weather and the sun and the warm weather have affected the clay, making it very slippery. That’s exactly why I hurt my knee today. I slipped, and I slip a lot. I mean, everybody slips on clay, but I slipped too many times.”
Djokovic limped off court, trailed 1-2 after two sets and then fell 2-4 in the fourth, before staging another dramatic comeback to win and reach the quarterfinals. After the match, Djokovic said he was taking a lot of painkillers, which helped him play pain-free late in the match, but he wouldn’t know the full details until he had a scan.
“After the third set, I asked for more medicine and I got it,” Djokovic said. “From what I just heard, it was the maximum dose. [a] I went to the doctor about 30-45 minutes later, and it was about that time, towards the end of the fourth set, that things really started to improve. I started to feel less restricted. I was basically in no pain by the fifth set, which is great. But the effects of the medication don’t last long, so we’ll see.”
“,”credit”:””}” config=”{“renderingTarget”:”Web”,”darkModeAvailable”:false,”updateLogoAdPartnerSwitch”:true,”assetOrigin”:”https://assets.guim.co.uk/”}”>
Quick Guide
How do I sign up for breaking sports alerts?
show
- Download the Guardian app by searching “The Guardian” in the iOS App Store for iPhone or the Google Play Store for Android.
- If you already have the Guardian app, make sure you have the latest version.
- In the Guardian app, tap the menu button in the bottom right[設定](gear icon),[通知]Go to:
- Turn on sports notifications.
Djokovic’s withdrawal will see Jannik Sinner rise to world number one for the first time in his career next week. Sinner becomes the first Italian to reach world number one in the history of the ATP rankings, and the 22-year-old’s rise means that there are now more world No. 1s born in the 2000s (Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner) than those born in the 1990s (Daniil Medvedev).
The injury also puts Djokovic’s ability to play at Wimbledon, where he is a seven-time champion and was runner-up last year, losing to Alcaraz, in doubt.
This season continues to be one of the most difficult for Djokovic as he arrived in Paris struggling to find form and motivation and has yet to win a title this year – just one more at this stage since his first triumph in 2006.
Djokovic put in some hard work in Paris, coming back from two sets to one to beat 30th seed Lorenzo Musetti at 3:07 a.m. and then making a dramatic comeback from injury to beat Cerundolo, spending nine hours on court in each of his past two matches, but with just over seven weeks to go until the start of the Olympics, Djokovic must now work his way back from injury.
Sinner, now all but guaranteed to become the next world No. 1, continued his dominating form by defeating No. 10 seed Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (3) to reach his first French Open semifinal. Djokovic withdrew mid-match, so Sinner was unaware of Djokovic’s upcoming rise until his on-court interview. “I’m very happy with this achievement,” Sinner said.
“I put in a lot of work every day. It’s a daily routine. Obviously I’m happy with the number. In two days I have a very important match for me, the semi-final, so I’m focused on that right now. But obviously I’m happy with the number right now.”
Sinner arrived in Paris with concerns over a hip injury that forced him to withdraw before the quarterfinals of the Madrid Open and Italian Open, but he has improved throughout the rounds and established himself as one of the top contenders to win. He is 33-2 this year and remains unbeaten in Grand Slam tournaments after 12 matches, having reached the semifinals in Paris after winning the Australian Open.
Sinner rekindled his rivalry with No. 3 seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals on Tuesday night when the latter beat No. 9 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Alcaraz again broke the Greek’s vulnerable one-handed backhand and fired a flurry of drop shots all night to improve to 6-0 against Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz came into the tournament with fitness issues, having withdrawn from Rome with a forearm injury, but since arriving in Paris the 21-year-old has been gradually improving and has been hitting the ball with more freedom, especially since the third round. The winner of this crucial semi-final on Friday afternoon will most likely finish off the tournament with his first French Open title.
