DEFENDING French Open men’s singles champion Novak Djokovic has been forced to withdraw from the Grand Slam tournament before his quarter-final due to a knee problem.
The injury, sustained in his fourth-round win over Francisco Cerundolo last night, ended the 37-year-old Serb’s quest for a record-extending 25th Grand Slam title and will result in him losing the world number one ranking to Jannik Sinner later this month.
“Due to a torn medial meniscus in his right knee (discovered during an MRI scan), Djokovic, who was supposed to play Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals tomorrow, has been forced to withdraw from the Roland Garros tournament,” organisers said today.
Last year’s runner-up and seventh seed Ruud will now advance to the semi-finals, where he could face fourth seed Alexander Zverev or 11th seed Alex de Minaur.
Meanwhile Italian Sinner continued his bid for a second Grand Slam title with a 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 victory over Grigor Dimitrov today to reach the French Open semi-finals, minutes after it was confirmed he would be the new world number one.
Djokovic’s withdrawal will mean that 22-year-old Sinner will become the first Italian player to take the No.1 spot since the ATP rankings were first published 51 years ago.
Women’s singles defending champion Iga Swiatek was also in solid form today in her quest for a fourth French Open title as she eased past former runner-up Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals.
The 23-year-old’s 62-minute victory set up a high-profile semi-final encounter with American Coco Gauff in a repeat of the 2022 final won by the Pole, who will look to improve her 10-1 overall record against the third seed.
Gauff fought back to beat fan-favourite Ons Jabeur 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 today.
Jabeur was roared on by a Tunisian contingent at Roland Garros as Gauff dropped the opening set, but the 20-year-old American won the second set and cruised in the third to reach the semis for the second time.
“She’s a tough opponent, she’s well loved on tour and I could tell by the crowd today. I know you guys wanted her to win,” reigning U.S. Open champion Gauff said.
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