Novak Djokovic withdraws from his quarter-final, the club blow

Novak Djokovic has so often made the impossible possible that the announcement of his withdrawal came as a surprise in the aisles of Roland-Garros. At 37, the Serbian had, as if by magic, completed a series of impossible marathons. Night owl, he victoriously completed his 3rd round against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti at 3:06 a.m. on the night of Saturday to Sunday. Before going on, still in five sets, with the sun finally complicit, his 8th final against the Argentinian Francisco Cerundolo on Monday, after 4h39 of effort (adding to the 4h29 of the previous match). And cold sweats. With an alert in his right knee which forced him to swallow anti-inflammatories and grit his teeth.

“I’ve had slight discomfort for about two weeks. Finishing late didn’t help with sleep, biorhythm or recovery. I wondered if I should continue or not”he said with a serious face on Monday evening before blowing: “I don’t know if I’ll be able to go play…”. “It is not good for your health to play after 11 p.m. or after midnight”snarled Ons Jabeur while criticizing the programming.

After a canceled training session on Tuesday, Novak Djokovic performed an MRI and the result revealed a meniscus injury. Looking back on the exams, Novak Djokovic’s performance is astonishing. Trailing 4-2 in the 4th set against Cerundolo, the Serb, a few points from defeat, got over the pain, the fatigue, the confused feelings which must have been running in a loop in a molten head to tell him not to put his integrity in jeopardy. But he hung on. On a mission.

He who, in the past, had assured to have won the Australian Open with a torn abdominal in 2021 and a torn left hamstring, still in Melbourne, in 2023. History of nourishing the legend of an indestructible player . Always ready to fight. A boxer equipped with a racket. Determined to fend off defeat with all his might. Proud of his journey, of his roots. In the name of all his people. “Adrenaline helps you move forward in the tournament. Sometimes it’s for a match or two, sometimes it’s for the entire tournament.he summarized.

Sometimes you feel like he’s going to collapse, but he never does…

Casper Ruud

Imagining the duel which would pit him against the Serb, Casper Ruud summed up: “We can say that he is the second best player of all time on clay. Of course, Borg has more titles than him (6 to 3), but Novak was always close. He reached the final and lost to Rafa. His reading of the game is incredibly good. He knows how to do drop shots. He has excellent movement on the court, making it difficult to hit winning shots. And on a physical level, he is strong. It never collapses. Sometimes you feel like he’s going to collapse, but he never does…”

This time, the injury devastated him, forcing him to withdraw. If his participation in Wimbledon (July 1-14) seems compromised, he can still dream of the Paris 2024 Olympics (July 26-August 11), he who only has one Olympic medal (bronze in 2008 in Beijing) to his name. prize list. This Tuesday, Novak Djokovic, in one fell swoop, dropped his title and his crown of world number 1, a place he had occupied continuously since September 11, 2023. He who holds (by far) the record for weeks reached the top (428, ahead of Roger Federer 310 and Pete Sampras 286). Jannik Sinner, winner 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) of Grigor Dimitrov in the quarter-finals, will take his place on Monday June 10 as the 29th No. 1 player of the Open era, the first Italian. At 22 years.

Eight days after the elimination of Rafael Nadal, Roland-Garros recorded the resounding withdrawal of Novak Djokovic. The doors to glory are now wide open. For the first time since 2004, the quarter-finals of Roland-Garros will not include any of the players from the legendary Big 3 (Djokovic, Federer, Nadal) who have destroyed so many editions. The tournament will, in the men’s draw, offer a new winner. Like the starting point of a new era…