“I played with my all and gave my heart,” Novak Djokovic shares heartfelt note after withdrawing from French Open 2024

Novak Djokovic suffered an injury while trying to slide in the fourth round match.

“I played with my all and gave my heart,” Novak Djokovic shares heartfelt note after withdrawing from French Open 2024

Novak Djokovic waving (via Imago)

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open ahead of his quarter-final match against Casper Ruud due to a knee injury suffered in the previous round. Djokovic has had a pretty disappointing year, and it continues to be as he lost out on a grand opportunity to win his first title.

Despite not winning anything at all this year, Djokovic seemed in great touch at the French Open. He started to move well and was more accurate with his shots. Moreover, the Serbian just finished two five-setter games to make it to the quarterfinals.

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His latest win against Francisco Cerundolo came with a lot of misfortune as well. During the match, Djokovic suffered a nasty fall, which restricted his movement and was a major concern for him, who revealed that his knee has been an issue over the last few months.

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As expected, Djokovic took an MRI scan, which revealed that he had suffered a meniscus tear in his right knee. Due to this, the Serbian pulled out from the French Open quarter-finals and gave a clear pass to Casper Ruud to the semi-finals. 

I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from #rolandgarros. I played with my heart and gave my all in yesterday’s match and unfortunately, due to a medial meniscus tear in my right knee, my team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.
posted Novak Djokovic after the withdrawal

Although he confirmed his withdrawal from the tournament, the Serbian did not reveal any date of his time out nor is there any information about his involvement in the next tournament. The year only got bad to worse for Djokovic, who hasn’t been able to catch a break.

Novak Djokovic expressed his frustration over the conditions of the French Open courts

After his last match against Francisco Cerundolo, Novak Djokovic expressed his frustration at the tournament for not sweeping the courts more often. What triggered this frustration was his fall, which he had suffered while trying to slide on the clay.

Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic looking worried (via Imago)

In a conversation with the tournament supervisor, the Serbian revealed that there was little to no clay present, making sliding very difficult and that he had slipped many times before, even on slides. He also revealed that the clay was affected due to the conditions, making sliding difficult. 

It seems like that some of the clay was removed, so there was very little, almost no clay on the court today. Because of the drier conditions and sun and warmer conditions, it affects the clay in such a way that, you know, it becomes very slippery.
said Novak Djokovic in a conversation with tournament director Wayne McKewen

Due to the same, Djokovic is now injured and will have to try to get as much rest as possible before the grass-court tournament begins. Nonetheless, the tournament will have to go on and will soon reveal its four semi-finalists.

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