Finally, Novak Djokovic said goodbye to Roland Garros due to the right knee injury he suffered in the round of 16 against Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo.
The Serbian, world No. 1 and current Roland Garros champion, sought to defend the title won last year in Paris and thus add his 25 Grand Slam, one more than the Australian Margaret Court, with whom until now he shared that record.
With this retirement, which directly classifies the Norwegian Casper Ruud for semi-finals For the third consecutive year, Djokovic will give up the world No. 1 to the Italian Jannik Sinner, who will thus become the first tennis player from his country to reach it.
“The player suffers a tear in the medial meniscus of his right knee that was discovered in the MRI he underwent this Tuesday,” Roland Garros said in a statement.
Djokovic was forced to play ten sets in less than 48 hours, with more than 9 hours on the court and after having finished his third round duel against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the wee hours of the morning.
Two days later, after winning the first set against Cerúndolo, He suffered from knee discomfort that he had had for weeks due to a bad movement, which kept him almost inactive for almost two sets.
The Serbian later complained about the poor condition of the track, stating that he asked the organizers to sweep it, but that they did not do so, which could have caused the injury to worsen. “They have ruined my knee,” the Serbian came to tell the track attendants, visibly upset.
He also noted that “the wear“may have contributed to his knee being damaged. Despite this problem, doctors gave him a anti-inflammatory which took about 40 minutes to take effect, but they left him restored, which allowed him to rejoin the duel at the end of the fourth set and end up adding his 370th Grand Slam victory, surpassing the Swiss Roger Federer in that record.
Djokovic, who is already the male tennis player with the most Grand Slams, two more than Rafa Nadal, arrived in Paris without any title in his cabinet, in a season in which he has measured his appearances on the court and given preference to the greats.
He surpassed Cerúndolo after 4 hours and 39 minutes, the longest match the Serbian has ever played in Paris, surpassing the one he played against Nadal in 2013.
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