Novak Djokovic injury: Tennis legend withdraws from 2024 French Open with knee issue

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open on Tuesday after suffering a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

The Serbian tennis legend suffered the injury during his fourth-round victory against No. 23 Francisco Cerundolo on Monday, which spanned five sets and lasted more than four-and-a-half hours. He underwent an MRI the following day, revealing the damage’s extent. 

It was only after his win over Cerundolo that Djokovic admitted that his right knee had been hampering him in recent weeks heading into the major tournament. 

He aggravated it further during the second set of Monday’s match where he took a medical timeout and was constantly being worked on by a trainer. He was also prescribed the maximum allowable dosage of pills allowed to dull the pain long enough to get through the match. 

“I mean, today I injured myself. Yes, I survived. I won the match. Great. But will I be able to play next one?” he began on Monday “I don’t know. I don’t know the severity of the injury. But could have this injury been prevented? Possibly, if there was just a little bit more of a frequent care of the court during the set.”

The 24-time Grand Slam winner and reigning French Open champion will be forced to relinquish his No. 1 world ranking.

He was slated to face Norwegian Casper Ruud, who finished second in the previous two French Opens, in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Ruud will now face No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev or No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur.

2024 French Open odds to win

• Carlos Alcaraz +120
• Jannik Sinner +220
• Casper Ruud +350
• Alexander Zverev +475
• Stefanos Tsitsipas +1800
• Alex De Minaur +2000

Odds courtesy of DraftKings. For more, click here.

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