Novak Djokovic withdraws from 2024 Roland Garros due to knee injury; Jannik Sinner clinches ATP world No. 1

Novak Djokovic has officially withdrawn from 2024 Roland Garros ahead of his quarterfinal match with No. 7 seed Casper Ruud, citing a right knee injury.

According to the tournament, an MRI scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

"I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from #rolandgarros," Djokovic wrote on social media. "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. 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."

Djokovic’s withdrawal means that Jannik Sinner will become the 29th and first Italian man to ascend to ATP world No. 1, as Djokovic, the defending champion, needed to at least reach the final to have a mathematical chance of retaining the top spot.

Djokovic injured his knee during his fourth-round match against No. 23 seed Francisco Cerundolo, a match he went on to win from two sets to one down, 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. It was Djokovic’s second straight five set match, having played late into the night to defeat No. 30 seed Lorenzo Musetti, again from two sets to one down.

Djokovic, who suffered a bizarre head injury during the Internazionali BNL d'Italia, expressed concern regarding his knee on court and in his post-match press conference.

"For the last couple weeks I have had, I would say, slight discomfort, I would call it that way, in the right knee, but I haven't had an injury that would be concerning me at all. I was playing a few tournaments with it, and no issues until today," he revealed after the match.

"I actually felt great coming into the match, as good as I could under the circumstances and played really well first set. Then in the third game of the second set, I slipped, one of the many times that I slipped and fell today. That affected the knee...At one point I didn't know, to be honest, whether I should continue or not with what's happening. I got the medications, and then after the third set was done, I asked for more medications, and I got them.

"I have had situations in my career where I had, you know, muscle tears and different things and played with that during the tournament," he added optimistically. "I'm not the only one. Many players have played with different injuries. There are medications, anti-inflammatories, stuff that you can do...I don't know what will happen tomorrow or after tomorrow if I'll be able to step out on the court and play. You know, I hope so. Let's see what happens."

Ruud will now advance to his third straight Roland Garros semifinal, and the two-time runner-up will await the winner of the quarterfinal meeting between No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev and No. 11 seed Alex de Minaur.