World No 1 Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the French Open ahead of his quarter-final match due to a knee injury.
Top seed and defending champion Djokovic was scheduled to play Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. Norwegian seventh seed Ruud will therefore progress straight to the semi-finals.
Djokovic’s withdrawal ends his quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam trophy and will result in him losing the world No 1 ranking to Italian Jannik Sinner later this month.
Roland Garros organisers said: “Due to a torn medial meniscus in his right knee (discovered during an MRI scan performed today), Novak Djokovic, who was supposed to play Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals tomorrow, has been forced to withdraw from the Roland-Garros tournament.”
It is unclear how long the injury will keep Djokovic out of action and whether the Serb will be fit for Wimbledon, which starts on July 1.
Djokovic had been dealing with a knee injury for weeks and needed anti-inflammatory tablets during Tuesday’s second set of his five-set victory over Francisco Cerundolo.
The 37-year-old slipped on the court and began grimacing and rubbing his right knee before receiving medical attention several times, telling the physio: “I screwed up my knee. I’m slipping and sliding all the time.”
Four games later, having asked for the court to be swept, he complained to a tournament supervisor about the state of the surface, saying: “I’m telling you as a player, it’s not OK.”
After the game, Djokovic said: “For the last couple weeks I have had slight discomfort, I would call it, in the right knee, but I haven’t had an injury that would be concerning me at all. I was playing a few tournaments with it, and had no issues until today.
Djokovic received treatment during his last-16 victory
“Of course, [the] late finish from a few nights ago didn’t help the sleeping, the biorhythm, and recovery. But I actually felt great coming into the match – as good as I could under the circumstances – and played really well first set. Then in the third game of the second set, I slipped, one of the many times that I slipped and fell today. That affected the knee.”
When is the next major?
Wimbledon will take place between July 1 and July 14.
Djokovic lost 1-6 7-6 (8-6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in last year’s final to Carlos Alcaraz.
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- Stuttgart Open (ATP 250 with Andy Murray in action) – June 10-16
- Rosmalen Open (ATP/WTA 250) – June 10-16
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