Novak Djokovic confessed yesterday, after winning his second five-set match at Roland Garros, that he is suffering from knee problems which worsened after slipping during the match with Francisco Cerundolo due to the lack of clay on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Djokovic then started a race against the clock to be fit to take to the court on Wednesday against Casper Ruud. He wasn’t seen training on Tuesday on the Bois de Boulogne courts. And has since confirmed he’s suffering from a torn meniscus in his knee and has withdrawn from the tournament.
As a result, he loses the title without playing, which means a loss of 1,600 points, meaning Jannik Sinner will become the 29th new No.1 in the ATP rankings on Monday, 10 June. Even Carlos Alcaraz could overtake Djokovic if he lifts The Musketeers’ Trophy on Sunday.
Djokovic hopes to be fit to make his comeback in the grass-court season, which ends with Wimbledon (July 1-14), where he was a finalist in the 2023 event against Carlos Alcaraz.
Nole, who turned 37 on May 22, is coming off a season in which he has not won a title or reached a final. It’s not the first time that the Serb has been forced to withdraw early in one of the majors. It last happened at the 2019 US Open when he was stopped in the round of 16 by Stan Wawrinka.
Ruud into the semi-finals without playing
Djokovic‘s withdrawal means that Ruud, a finalist in the last year’s tournament when he was defeated by the Balkan, will go straight through to the semi-finals.