Paris: Novak Djokovic’s disappointing season continued on Tuesday when the reigning French Open champion was forced to withdraw from the Grand Slam ahead of his quarter-final due to a knee problem.
The injury, suffered during his fourth-round victory over Francisco Cerundolo, ended the Serb’s quest for a record 25th Grand Slam trophy and will see him lose the world No. 1 ranking to Jannik Sinner more late this month.
“Due to a torn medial meniscus in his right knee (discovered during an MRI), Djokovic, who was scheduled to face Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals tomorrow, was forced to withdraw from the Roland-Garros tournament,” they said. indicated the organizers.
Ruud, last year’s runner-up and seventh seed, will now advance to the semi-finals, where he could face fourth seed Alexander Zverev or 11th seed Alex de Minaur.
Monday’s marathon match was the second consecutive clash in which Djokovic was taken to five sets after his epic defeat of Lorenzo Musetti and he spent more than nine hours on court in the final two rounds of the year’s second major.
The Serb said he had been suffering from an injury for a few weeks and the problem flared up when he slipped during his match against Cerundolo.
The injury could also cast doubt on his fitness for Wimbledon next month.
It’s been a season to forget for Djokovic after his bid for a record 11th Australian Open title was ended by eventual champion Sinner in the semi-finals, before losing to lucky loser Luca Nardi early in Indian Wells.
After being knocked out by Ruud in the Monte Carlo semi-final, Djokovic was beaten 6-2, 6-3 by Alejandro Tabilo in the third round in Rome last month, two days after being hit in the head by a bottle of water from a fan as he signed autographs.
Djokovic is still without a trophy this season after one of the most dominant seasons of his career in 2023 in which he won three of the four Grand Slam titles.
