Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the French Open ahead of his quarter-final. The world No. 1 picked up a knee injury during his fourth-round clash with Francisco Cerundolo on Monday and cast doubts over whether he could play his next match.
The reigning champion had some medical tests immediately after coming off the court and went for an MRI scan on Tuesday. After receiving worrying results, he withdrew from the tournament.
As a result of his withdrawal, Casper Ruud will advance directly into Friday’s semi-final. Djokovic will also relinquish his world No. 1 spot to Jannik Sinner, who will reach the top of the rankings for the first time in his career on Monday.
The French Open officially announced Djokovic’s withdrawal on Tuesday afternoon, around 24 hours before he would have been due to face Ruud in the last eight. “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,” the statement read.
The three-time champion at Roland Garros injured himself during the third game of the second set of his match against Cerundolo. He called the physio and received treatment during a medical time out. The trainer and doctor returned a few more times and Djokovic took two lots of medication – the “maximum dose” he was allowed.
He dropped the next two sets and went down a break in the fourth before the painkillers kicked in and he mounted a 6-1 5-7 3-6 7-5 6-3 comeback. But Djokovic later confessed that he thought about retiring from the match and didn’t know whether he’d be ready to face Ruud.
Djokovic also slipped on the clay multiple times and complained about the quality of the surface during and after the match, claiming that his injury could have been prevented. The 37-year-old had been carrying some discomfort in his knee for a couple of weeks but explained that it didn’t affect him during matches until he fell and hurt himself.
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