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 quarter-final due to a knee issue.
The injury, sustained in his fourth-round win over Francisco Cerundolo, ended the Serb’s quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam trophy and will result in him losing the world number one ranking to 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 quarter-finals tomorrow, has been forced to withdraw from the Roland Garros tournament,” organizers said.
Last year’s runner-up and seventh seed Ruud will now advance to the semifinals, where he could face fourth seed Alexander Zverev or 11th seed Alex de Minaur. Monday’s marathon match was the second straight clash in which Djokovic was taken to five sets after 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. —AFP
