The knee injury sustained by Novak Djokovic during his five-set win over Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round of the French Open on Monday afternoon turned out to be a very real thing.
After getting an MRI, Djokovic–who would have faced Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals–withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday. The 37-year-old Serb has a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.
“I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from #rolandgarros,” Djokovic wrote on Instagram. “I played with my heart and gave my all in yesterday’s match and unfortunately, due to a meniscus tear in my right knee, my team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.
“I wish the best of luck to the players competing this week and sincerely thank the incredible fans for all of the love and continued support.
“See you soon.”
The world No. 1’s exit means Jannik Sinner will become the top-ranked player in the world for the first time in his career next week. Djokovic was defending 2,000 points from last year’s title at Roland Garros.
