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Djokovic faces race against time to be ready for Wimbledon

Djokovic was forced to pull out of the French Open quarterfinal with a knee injury

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Serbia's Novak Djokovic receives medical treatment during his round of 16 match against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo on Monday. — AFP

By Reuters

Published: Tue 4 Jun 2024, 9:45 PM

World number one Novak Djokovic's disappointing season continued on Tuesday when the defending French Open champion was forced to pull out of the Grand Slam before his quarterfinal with a knee injury that could threaten his Wimbledon and Olympic chances.

The injury, sustained in his fourth-round win over Francisco Cerundolo, ended the Serb's quest to win a record-extending 25th Grand Slam trophy and will result in him losing his top ranking to Italian Jannik Sinner later this month.

"Due to a torn medial meniscus in his right knee (discovered during an MRI scan), Djokovic, who was supposed to play Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals tomorrow, has been forced to withdraw from the Roland Garros tournament," tournament organisers said.

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Last year's runner-up and seventh seed Ruud will now advance to the semifinals, where he could take on fourth seed Alexander Zverev or 11th seed Alex de Minaur.

Djokovic said on Instagram that he was disappointed to pull out of the tournament that he has won three times.

"I played with my heart and gave my all in yesterday's match," Djokovic said. "Unfortunately... 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."

Sinner said it was not the way he hoped to take the top spot, adding Djokovic's exit was a loss for the tournament.

"It's not the way we all were expecting, actually. He had two very long matches, tough matches, five sets, so it's tough. The first one he finished really late also," Sinner said.

"It's tough also for the tournament. Novak retiring, it's always tough."

Monday's marathon match was the second straight clash in which Djokovic was taken to five sets following his epic against Lorenzo Musetti and he has spent over nine hours on court in the last two rounds at the year's second major.

The Serb said he had been carrying an injury for a couple of weeks and that the problem had flared up when he slipped during his match against Cerundolo, which he completed with the help of pain-killers.

The injury could also cast doubts over his fitness ahead of next month's Wimbledon and the Paris Olympic Games that follow, although Ruud was optimistic as he wished Djokovic well on X.

"Speedy recovery Nole. Hope to see you back and healthy on the grass," Ruud said.

It has been a season to forget for Djokovic after his bid for a record-extending 11th Australian Open title was ended by eventual champion Sinner in the semi-finals, before he lost to lucky loser Luca Nardi early at Indian Wells.

Having been stunned by Ruud in the Monte Carlo semifinals, Djokovic was thrashed 6-2 6-3 by Alejandro Tabilo in the third round in Rome last month, two days after being hit on the head by a fan's water bottle while signing autographs.

He was also beaten in three sets by unheralded Tomas Machac in the Geneva semi-finals ahead of Roland Garros.

Djokovic is still without a trophy this year after one of the most dominant campaigns of his glittering career in 2023, during which he claimed three of the four Grand Slam titles.

Meanwhile, Sinner powered past Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to reach his first French Open semifinal, where he could face rival Carlos Alcaraz, on the day he secured the world number one ranking.

Sinner already knew that he could take the number-one berth by reaching the final at Roland Garros.

He has enjoyed a fine season, also winning the Rotterdam and Miami Opens in addition to his maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne.

Sinner's win-loss record this year now stands at an impressive 33-2, his only two defeats this season coming against Alcaraz in the Indian Wells semifinals and Tsitsipas in the Monte Carlo last four.

If Sinner is to reach a second successive major final, he will have to overcome Alcaraz, against whom he shares a 4-4 head-to-head record, or Tsitsipas, who he has lost to six times in nine meetings.

Bulgarian 10th seed Dimitrov was playing in the quarterfinals for the first time on his 14th French Open appearance, and was largely outplayed despite a brief late rally.

Sinner eased to the opening set, breaking twice and losing just four points behind his serve.

He broke again in the first game of the second set and comfortably held from then on to move closer to the semis.

It was a similar story for much of the third, as Sinner set up the chance to serve for the match when leading 5-4, but Dimitrov finally put him under pressure to level the set.

The second seed gathered himself, though, to force a tie-break, which he dominated to add another career first on an already landmark day for himself and Italian tennis.

"My performance was solid, a little bit of tension when I was serving for the match which is normal, but I'm very happy to be in the semi-finals," he said.

Reuters

Published: Tue 4 Jun 2024, 9:45 PM

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