PARIS (AP) —Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open on Tuesday due to a right knee injury, an abrupt end to his title defense and his current reign as the No. 1 ranking.
“I am very sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros,” Djokovic wrote on his social networks. “I played my heart out and gave my all in yesterday’s game and unfortunately, due to a torn medial meniscus in my right knee, my team and I had to make a difficult decision after careful analysis and consultation.”
The tournament reported that the 37-year-old Serbian star suffered a tear of the medial meniscus in his right knee.
The severity of the injury was confirmed during an MRI the day after Djokovic was injured during his round of 16 victory against Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, a duel that went to a maximum of five sets and lasted more than 4 and a half hours. .
Djokovic was scheduled to face two-time Roland Garros runner-up Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Instead, Ruud advances directly to the semifinals, where he will face the winner of the duel between Alexander Zverev and Alex de Minaur.
The injury adds to an irregular season for Djokovic, without titles throughout the year.
His withdrawal means that Jannik Sinner will rise to the top of the ATP rankings starting Monday.
Without Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, owner of a record 14 titles at Roland Garros, after being eliminated in the first round, someone else will lift the Slam champion trophy on clay for the first time on Sunday.
The list of contenders includes Sinner, the next number one. The 22-year-old Italian defeated Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday to reach the semifinals.
Sinner won the Australian Open in January and is the first man from his country to reach the pinnacle of tennis.
“Seeing Novak (injured) like this is something that disappoints everyone,” he said. “I hope he makes a good recovery soon.”
