- The Serbian star gave the impression to be struggling throughout his fourth-round win
- Scans revealed Djokovic has torn the medial meniscus in his proper knee
Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the French Open and faces a time crunch to be match for Wimbledon after an MRI scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in his proper knee.
The 37-year-old suffered the damage in his fourth-round match in opposition to Francisco Cerundolo however nonetheless managed to win in 5 units. However scans revealed dangerous information and he was pressured to tug out of his quarterfinal match in opposition to Casper Ruud on Wednesday.
In consequence, the 24-time Grand Slam champion will lose his world No. 1 rating to Italy's Jannik Sinner after the French Open.
With lower than 4 weeks to go till Wimbledon begins, Djokovic is unlikely to play within the championships. The following huge occasion is the Olympic Video games at Roland Garros in July and August.
Throughout and after the match in opposition to Cerundolo, Djokovic complained in regards to the situation of Philippe Chatrier's clay floor and requested for the courtroom to be brushed extra typically, a request that was denied. He blamed the situation of the courtroom for the slip that led to his damage – aggravating ache in a knee that he stated he had been feeling just a few weeks earlier than Roland Garros.
Novak Djokovic struggled in fourth spherical match in opposition to Francisco Cerundolo
The defending champion was seen having a tense argument along with his spouse Jelena in the course of the match
Jelena was standing within the gamers' field responding after Djokovic misplaced some extent on serve.
'Might this damage have been prevented?' he stated after the match. 'In all probability, if the courtroom was taken care of a little bit extra in the course of the set. That's all I want.'
Djokovic was additionally seen having a home row along with his spouse Jelena throughout his five-set win over Cerundolo.
He was a break up at 2-0 within the deciding fifth set however regarded visibly upset after dropping some extent at 30-30.
Djokovic then stepped again to gather extra balls to start his subsequent serve earlier than turning to his household within the field on Courtroom Philippe-Chatrier.
Cameras captured the tense alternate, with Djokovic gesturing angrily along with his palms and shouting at his staff.
His spouse can then be seen standing within the field within the stands and responding to her husband as he was displaying anger within the courtroom.
Simply minutes earlier than Djokovic's withdrawal, the French Open account on social media platform X revealed a video of the Serbian arriving at Roland-Garros with the caption: “The marathon man is right here.”
Talking after his fourth-round win, Djokovic revealed for the primary time that he had been combating a knee downside.
Djokovic confirmed nice resilience even in tough conditions
He stated, 'I’ve been having some slight discomfort in my proper knee for the previous few weeks.'
'However I've been enjoying round with it and haven't had any issues till right this moment. In fact ending late just a few nights in the past didn't assist.
'I slipped within the third recreation of the second set, right this moment too I slipped and fell a number of occasions. This affected my knee.
'At one level I actually didn't know if I ought to proceed taking the drugs or not. I took the drugs after which after the third set I requested for extra medication.
'This was the utmost dose that began to point out results after 30 to 45 minutes, which was on the finish of the fourth minute when issues actually began to get higher.
'Mainly the entire fifth set was nearly pain-free. However the impact of the drugs gained't final lengthy. We now have had some exams executed by the physician after the match. There’s some constructive information but in addition some issues, so let's see tomorrow.'
Throughout the match with Cerundolo, he known as match supervisor Wayne McKewen to the courtroom to reply his complaints.
Djokovic stated, 'Clarify to me, why is it such an enormous difficulty to get folks to comb the courtroom?'
'I took a hasty step and broken my knee. I slip and slide on a regular basis.
'All I'm asking is are you able to win the courtroom over after each second change?'
“I requested and the groundsman stated it was a traditional courtroom for them,” McKeown stated.
“For them?! I'm telling you as a participant that it's not honest and also you're going to play with folks within the courtroom who’ve by no means performed tennis. They know higher than me whether or not the courtroom is nice or not? Absurd. Fully absurd.”
