Novak Djokovic pulled out of the the French Open with an injured knee on Tuesday, an abrupt end to his title defense and to his current stay at No. 1 in the rankings.
“I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from
#rolandgarros,” Djokovic posted on social media. “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.”
The tournament said the extent of the injury was found
during an MRI exam Tuesday. Djokovic was hurt during a fourth-round victory
against No. 23 Francisco Cerundolo on Monday that lasted five sets spread
across more than 4 1/2 hours. It was his second consecutive five-setter, with
his total time on court across the two exceeding 9 hours.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was supposed to face No. 7
seed Casper Ruud, the runner-up each of the past two years at Roland Garros, in
the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Instead, Ruud gets a walkover into the
semifinals, where he will face No. 4 Alexander Zverev or No. 11 Alex de Minaur.
With Djokovic, the owner of three French Open titles, gone
from the bracket, and Rafael Nadal — owner of a record 14 — eliminated in the
first round, someone will be holding the French Open men’s trophy for the first
time on Sunday.
The group of remaining contenders includes No. 2 seed Jannik
Sinner, a 22-year-old Italian who defeated No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6
(3) on Tuesday to get to the semifinals and now is assured of replacing
Djokovic atop the ATP rankings next week.
Sinner won the Australian Open in January and becomes the
first man from his country to reach No. 1.
His match against Dimitrov was in progress when news of
Djokovic’s withdrawal spread. So Sinner had no idea until he was asked about it
during an on-court interview after his win.
“Seeing Novak (injured) is, for everyone, disappointing,”
Sinner said, “so I wish him a speedy recovery.”
And as for his newfound status?
“It means a lot to me, for sure,” said Sinner, who will
renew his exciting rivalry with No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s semifinals.
Alcaraz reached the final four in Paris for the second year
in a row — he cramped up and lost to Djokovic in 2023 — by defeating No. 9
Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-4 on Tuesday night.
Sinner and Alcaraz have played eight times, splitting them
4-4. They have played twice at majors, splitting those 1-1.
“Well, it’s a really difficult challenge. I’m not going to
lie. Right now, he’s the best player in the world — or the player who is
playing the best tennis right now,” Alcaraz said. “It is the match that
everybody wants to watch.”
Amid a season in which Djokovic is only 18-6 and has not
reached a final at any tournament, let alone won one, he needed to get back to
the title match at the French Open to continue to add to his record for most
weeks at No. 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 among 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 past 1 ½ seasons with injuries.
No one knows yet how long Djokovic, 37, will be sidelined or
what, if any, effect this might have on his future.
Wimbledon, where has won seven titles, starts July 1, and
the tennis competition at the Paris Olympics starts at Roland Garros on July
27.
“I saw that he was obviously physically struggling (Monday),
and I honestly thought … he was on the verge of losing,” said U.S. Open
champion Coco Gauff, who made her way into the women’s semifinals with a
three-set win over Ons Jabeur and will play No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Thursday.
Seeing Djokovic pull out the win against Cerundolo, Gauff
said, made her think “that he would win the title.”
Djokovic’s knee had been bothering him for a couple of weeks
before he arrived in Paris for the French Open — something he kept to himself
until after the win against Cerundolo. Early in the second set Monday, Djokovic
tweaked his knee and took a medical timeout. A trainer worked on the joint then
and during subsequent changeovers, and Djokovic took what he said a tournament
doctor told him was the maximum dose of pills allowed to dull the pain and
reduce any inflammation.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow — or, after
tomorrow, if I’ll be able to step out on the court and play,” Djokovic said
Monday evening.
Djokovic trailed by two sets to one, and was down a break at
4-2 in the fourth, against Cerundolo before raising his level of play once the
medication kicked in.
“I was,” Djokovic said afterward, “maybe three or four
points away from losing this match.”
Yes, he stuck it out, and, yes, he came back to win — it was
his 370th victory in Grand Slam play, breaking a tie with Federer
for the most in tennis history — but it was costly. And Djokovic said Monday he
thought it could have been prevented if the clay inside Court Philippe Chatrier
had been cared for better.
Both in that match — and during his 4 ½-hour victory in the
third round, which ended after 3 a.m. Sunday — Djokovic tried to get the chair
umpires to have the court swept more frequently to improve traction.
“I mean, today I injured myself. Yes, I survived. I won the
match. Great. But will I be able to play next one?” he said, tapping his palms
on a table for emphasis. AP