Novak Djokovic might have been quite unlucky at Roland Garros, but he’s fared far better at Wimbledon so far, as he got a huge lucky break with Alex de Minaur withdrawing ahead of their match.
The Australian player played a solid event at this year’s Wimbledon, beating some talented opponents en route to the quarter-final. He was supposed to face Djokovic on the Centre Court for a spot in the semi-finals, but that match won’t be taking place as he withdrew ahead of it.
The Australian appeared to have injured himself at the end of his fourth-round match against Arthur Fils while extending to catch a volley on the net. It was the final point of the match, which made it even worse for him.
He limped over to the net and to his chair, which caused some concern, and now we know why. It’s bad enough to prevent him from playing in the quarter-finals, as he revealed during a press conference held because of his withdrawal, and as a result, Djokovic advanced to his 13th career semi-final at SW19.
“I’m devastated. Have to pull out due to a hip injury, a tear of the cartilage that connect to the adductors. I felt a crack during the last 3 points of my match against Fils. Had a scan yesterday and it confirmed it was the injury with high risk of making it worse.”
While certainly not the way he wanted to make it to the last four, it’s great for Djokovic because it gives him a good chance to rest up, prepare for the semi-finals, and examine his potential rivals in the upcoming match.
The Serbian admitted a few days ago that his knee is still bothering him, so not having to play this match will certainly benefit him. The seven-time champion was clearly a favorite against de Minaur, but not having actually to play the match is certainly a boost.
Djokovic will face the winner of the match between Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti. He has a good H2H against both, leading Fritz 9-0 and Musetti 5-1.
