What implications are behind Djokovic’s French Open withdrawal?
The Serb came back against Cerundolo in another epic battle in Paris, but his injury won’t allow him to fight for another major title.
Novak Djokovic played against Francisco Cerundolo with a knee injury, but the Serb managed to overcome that problem and come out on top against the Argentinian in a hard-fought five-setter clash.
Although Nole comfortably won the opening set against the clay court specialist, the 24-time major champion started having problems in the second one.
Djokovic started feeling discomfort in his right knee and, at the same time, Cerundolo started feeling the ball and being more inspired. The Buenos Aires native put the 37-year-old maestro in trouble by winning the next two sets.
But after receiving some medical assistance, the French Open defending champion recorded another impressive performance. As he did against Lorenzo Musetti, Djokovic managed to win the last two sets to emerge victorious.
However, Djokovic won’t be able to defend the crown in Paris as he was forced to withdraw from the season’s second Grand Slam tournament after not overcoming his fitness issues. That means his opponent, Casper Ruud, automatically qualified for the semifinals.
Djokovic’s injury: no French Open title and Sinner becomes the world No. 1
Djokovic’s withdrawal from Roland Garros will probably be in the Serb’s mind for a long time.
The Belgrade player seemed to have recovered his best tennis after a bad start to the campaign, but an injury has kept him away from winning another major, at least for now.
But besides the frustration of having to say goodbye to the chance of lifting another Grand Slam event title, his withdrawal will be a bitter pill to swallow, as Jannik Sinner has virtually become the world No. 1 player.
The Italian, who will officially take the ATP rankings top spot from Nole on Monday, becomes the first Italian male to reach the top spot in tennis.
Moreover, the Australian Open champion has another big reason to smile, as he’s already in the French Open semifinals after dispatching Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets.
“Very happy. We’ve played against [each other] a couple of times before. We know what to expect. We played the final in Miami against each other. It’s always tough to play against him; he’s such a great talent and a nice guy. The atmosphere as always has been amazing. It’s a huge pleasure to play on this court. Thanks everyone for coming out and staying”, Sinner said after the game.
“My performance was very solid, especially the first two sets. Then I had a bit of tension when I was serving for the match, but this is normal. This is tennis. I’m very happy with how I reacted later, and I’m very happy to be in the semis”, he added.
With Djokovic out of contention, Sinner and Alcaraz are the favorites to lift the trophy in Paris. The Italian will face the winner of the Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Alcaraz matchup later today.