Djokovic withdraws from the French Open due to a knee injury and is about to give up the world No. 1, but the Olympic dream will never "leave"

Beiqing Sports

2024-06-05 07:44Posted on the official account of Beijing Beiqing Sports News

On June 4, the current world No. 1 Djokovic, who went through two back-to-back five-set battles at the 2024 French Open, announced his retirement due to a torn meniscus in his right knee. His record of 428 weeks as world No. 1 will also come to an end. But Djokovic still reaped glory at the French Open with his unyielding performance. And his desire to compete in the Paris Olympics for his country is still strong.

Novak Djokovic battled hard at the French Open, battling late into the night for two days in a row and being forced into a five-set tiebreaker for the second time in a row. Djokovic used dopamine and painkillers to fight the pain in his knees and squeeze his 37-year-old body. Djokovic and Musetti played the previous round for 4 hours and 29 minutes, ending at 4am, setting a new record for the last match to end at the French Open. Djokovic then fought Argentina's Serundolo in five sets less than 24 hours later. However, Djokovic slipped and sprained his knee during the game, and after the game, Djokovic said that he would have an MRI scan of his knee before deciding whether to continue playing.

Late at night on the 4th, Beijing time, Djokovic's team came with news that Djokovic was found to have a tear in the meniscus of his right knee after undergoing an MRI examination. Djokovic then announced the end of the French Open, and his next round opponent, Ruud, the runner-up of last year's French Open, advanced to the semi-finals of the French Open without a fight.

Djokovic's withdrawal from this French Open means that he will lose points from last year's French Open champion. Previously, Djokovic was only 775 points ahead of Italy's rising star Sinner in second place. With Djokovic missing out on defending his title at the French Open, he will end 428 weeks of leading the world number one after the French Open. Sinner will become Italy's first player to be ranked No. 1 in the world in men's tennis.

After a stellar 2023 season, the 2024 season has not been "friendly" to the 37-year-old Djokovic. As they grow older, they grow into real rivals. Djokovic has only reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, Monte Carlo and Geneva this season, with no finals and no titles.

Djokovic has won 370 Grand Slam matches so far, surpassing Federer's 369 to become the all-time leader. It was also his 59th time reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam. Of Djokovic's 370 Grand Slam wins, 94 have come at the Australian Open, 92 at Wimbledon and 88 at the US Open, with the French Open winning the most at 96.

In addition to being the all-time leader in the number of Grand Slam wins, Djokovic also holds a number of Grand Slam all-time records - reaching the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam 59 times, the semi-finals of a Grand Slam 48 times, reaching the final of a Grand Slam 36 times, and winning 24 Grand Slam titles. In the face of these statistics, Djokovic's status in men's tennis is needless to say.

Despite suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee, Djokovic says he still has desires and dreams for the game. In the 2024 season, in addition to the four major Grand Slam tournaments, he will also focus on the Paris Olympics, which will start on July 26. As the world No. 1 in men's tennis, Djokovic has said many times before that his biggest regret is the lack of an Olympic tennis singles gold medal. 'In terms of motivation, I don't have that much in other competitions, but playing in the Grand Slams and playing for Serbia in the Olympics still moves me and still gives me strength and desire. Djokovic said.

According to speculation, Djokovic will definitely miss this year's grass court season and Wimbledon. Whether he can represent Serbia at the Paris Olympics will depend on how well he recovers from a knee injury, and how much energy the 37-year-old will bring to his dreams.

Text/Beiqing Sports Chu Peng

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