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Novak Djokovic - Roland Garros 2024
ATP Tennis Players, Novak Djokovic, Roland Garros, Tennis News

Novak Djokovic withdraws from Roland Garros with right knee injury


Novak Djokovic has officially withdrawn from Roland Garros due to a right knee injury, meaning that Jannik Sinner will be crowned as the new world No.1 following the tournament.

Djokovic came through a five set match yesterday, fighting back to beat Francisco Cerundolo in over four-and-a-half hours.

This was the 24-time Grand Slam champion’s second successive five set match, having completed his third round against Lorenzo Musetti at 3:07am on Sunday (the latest match in Roland Garros history).

However, it was clear that the Serbian was struggling with a pain in his right knee, that he appeared to jar during a slip on Court Philippe-Chatrier yesterday.

After the match, Djokovic admitted that he was unsure as to whether he would be able to take to court for his quarter-final against Casper Ruud tomorrow and would undergo an MRI scan.

And it appears that these scans have come back negatively, with Djokovic being removed from the practice schedule and subsequently withdrawing from the tournament.

Djokovic confirmed the details of his injury in a statement on social media, “I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros. I played with my heart and gave my all in yesterday’s match and unfortunately, due to a medial meniscus tear in my right knee, my team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.

“I wish the best of luck to the players competing this week and sincerely thank the incredible fans for all the love and continued support. See you soon. With love and gratitude, Nole.”

As a result of this, Ruud moves onto the semi-final and the aforementioned Sinner is guaranteed to become the new world No.1 on Monday, regardless of how far the Australian Open champion goes in the rest of the tournament.

Inside the baseline… 

It is very disappointing news to hear from Novak Djokovic, but somewhat unsurprising given that he had warned everyone in the press conference. However, given that it is Djokovic, many people including Casper Ruud thought that he would take to the court tomorrow and at least give it a go, as the Serbian not fully fit is still better than the majority of players. Hopefully this injury is not too severe and Djokovic can recover in time for Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics, both of which are big goals for him.

READ MORE: Novak Djokovic ‘doesn’t know’ if he can play his Roland Garros Quarter-Final

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Matthew Johns, Tennishead Writer, is a professional tennis journalist with a specialist degree in Sports Journalism. He's a keen tennis player having represented his local club and University plus he's also a qualified tennis coach. Matthew has a deep knowledge of tennis especially the ATP Tour and thrives on breaking big tennis news stories for Tennishead.