Himalaya Harbinger, Rudrapur Bureau
When the end comes for an athlete, it comes fast. And Father Time appears to have his sights on Novak Djokovic.
The 37-year-old, winner of three of the four grand slams in 2023, has failed to reach a final of any tour event this year – and that slide will continue after his shock withdrawal from the French Open.
Djokovic, long tennis’ ironman, stunned the sport by succumbing to a knee injury suffered in his four hour, 39 minute epic against Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round.
“I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from #rolandgarros,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram. “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 of the love and continued support. See you soon.”
World number one and 24-time Grand Slam champion Djokovic was due to play Casper Ruud for a place in the last four.
Djokovic defeated Ruud in last year’s final at Roland Garros but the Norwegian will now get a free pass to the semis.
He’ll meet the winner of Australian hope Alex de Minaur’s quarter against Alexander Zverev, who will both appreciate losing Djokovic from their section of the draw.
“Wow,” tennis journalist Jose Morgado tweeted. “Novak Djokovic withdraws from #RolandGarros QFs vs. Ruud, who is back into the semifinals. The Serb loses his world #1 as well.”
Regardless of results for the rest of the tournament, Jannik Sinner will become the first Italian man to reach number one in the world when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Sinner advanced to his first Roland Garros semi-final shortly after Djokovic’s exit from the competition, defeating Bulgarian 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov in three sets.
Djokovic had cast doubt over his fitness following his five-set win over Cerundolo, admitting he needed anti-inflammatory drugs to get through the match.
Djokovic blamed the “slippery” Philippe Chatrier court for the injury he sustained early in the second set of his 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory over Cerundolo.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or after tomorrow if I’ll be able to step out on the court and play. You know, I hope so. Let’s see what happens,” Djokovic said after the match.
A limping Djokovic looked to be heading for a shock defeat when 2-1 down in sets and 4-2 behind in the fourth set, but battled back from the brink to delight the Court Philippe Chatrier crowd.
But not all was well for Djokovic, who was left fuming over the conditions.
In the fifth set after a fall, Djokovic took aim at the officials, saying: “Great job by you guys. You know better than us. It’s not slippery at all, not dangerous at all! Well done, supervisor and everyone. Grounds staff, well done.”
Djokovic said the court was slippery due to the dry conditions and had wanted the court swept.
The Serbian star hit out at the officials after the match.
“If a player is feeling a certain way, what else do we need to wait for for that to happen?” Djokovic said.
Today I injured myself, yes I survived, I won the match, great. But will I be able to play the next one? I don’t know.
“I don’t know the severity of the injury but could this injury have been prevented? Possibly if there was a little bit more frequent care of the court during the set. That’s all I asked for.”
Djokovic admitted he had been dealing with a knee injury throughout the match but said he tweaked it in the second set against the 23rd seed Cerundolo.
He had a medical time out at the time and took anti-inflammatories, adding later he was taking the maximum allowed.
Some fans were quick to cast doubt on Djokovic’s injury claims, considering the Serbian has won the Australian Open in recent years with a wrist injury, a hamstring strain, and abdominal tear.
I was maybe three or four points away from losing this match,” the reigning champion said. “I’m not sure how I won this match.”
However, he reiterated he was not yet 100 per cent sure he would be fit enough to play on Wednesday.
“I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or after tomorrow if I’ll be able to step out on the court and play. I hope so. Let’s see what happens,” he said.
The victory was another slice of history as he broke Roger Federer’s record for the most victories in a grand slam, passing the Swiss maestro with his 370th victory in a major.
However, after two decades at the top and 24 grand slam titles, Djokovic has also begun speaking about finishing up his career.
After the match, Djokovic told Tennis Majors it was draining as he needed to “show up at my best on a daily basis in every practice, not to miss one round of treatments, and I have to motivate myself consistently”.
“After all these years and everything that I’ve achieved, it’s not easy to get up every day with the same clarity and desire to do certain things for the millionth time,” Djokovic admitted.
After all these years and everything that I’ve achieved, it’s not easy to get up every day with the same clarity and desire to do certain things for the millionth time,” Djokovic admitted.
“On the other hand, I really love all of that, I enjoy it, it’s not a cliche, it’s a strong emotion, I’ve told you guys already.”
He added to keep at the level he has for so long, it was all about attitude and asking himself the questions such as: “do I want something, what’s the purpose, what are the goals, do I really want this, or someone else wants it and I am just following along?”
These are the questions swirling around my head more frequently than before,” he continued.
