LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic’s smooth trip through the Wimbledon bracket got even easier on Wednesday, when he moved into his record-tying 13th semifinal at the tournament via a walkover because his quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur, pulled out with a hip injury.
Djokovic had knee surgery less than a month before the start of play at the All England Club, raising questions about whether he’d even be able to try to earn his eighth championship at the grass-court major and add to his men’s mark of 24 Grand Slam trophies.
But, despite limitations on movement, the 37-year-old Djokovic has dropped only two sets so far, while facing a qualifier in the first round, a wild-card entrant in the second and only one seeded player, No. 15 Holger Rune. Djokovic was supposed to go up against No. 9 de Minaur on Wednesday, but instead will get three full days off before Friday’s semifinals.
More eventful for Djokovic has been his interactions with some spectators at Centre Court. After beating Rune in straight sets on Monday, Djokovic told fans that a group of them showed “disrespect” toward him with the way they were cheering.
In the women’s quarterfinals Wednesday, 2022 champion Elena Rybakina grabbed nine of the last 11 games to defeat No. 21 Elina Svitolina 6-3, 6-2, and No. 31 Barbora Krejcikova eliminated No. 13 Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 7-6 (4) in a matchup between two past champions at the French Open.
Rybakina ended her win with her seventh ace and improved to 19-2 at Wimbledon in four appearances.
“Definitely, I have an aggressive style of game,” Rybakina said. “I have a huge serve, so it’s a big advantage.”
Her match lasted 1 hour, 1 minute — shorter than the second set alone of Krejcikova against Ostapenko, who at one point ordered her coach to leave the stands.
Krejcikova won her first Grand Slam title on the red clay at Roland Garros in 2021, but never had put together a five-match winning streak on grass until now.
“There have been many doubts from the inside, but also from outside — from the outside world,” said Krejcikova, who arrived at the All England Club with a record of just 6-9 in 2024. “But I’m super happy than I never gave up and that I’m standing here right now.”
The other women’s semifinal is No. 7 Jasmine Paolini against unseeded Donna Vekic.
Djokovic’s next match will come against No. 13 Taylor Fritz of the United States or No. 25 Lorenzo Musetti of Italy. Fritz and Musetti were scheduled to play their quarterfinal on Wednesday.
No man has made it to as many Grand Slam semifinals as Djokovic’s 49. He and Roger Federer are the only men with 13 appearances in the final four at Wimbledon.
De Minaur’s exit is the latest to come because of injury in Week 2 of the tournament. Players who stopped competing in the middle of fourth-round matches because they were hurt include No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov in the men’s draw, and No. 12 Madison Keys and No. 17 Anna Kalinskaya in the women’s.
The hip issue for de Minaur, a 25-year-old Australian, arose right near the end of his four-set win against Arthur Fils on Monday. De Minaur said he heard a crack and knew something was wrong.
He underwent medical tests Tuesday that revealed the extent of the problem but tried to practice on Wednesday morning in the hope he would be able to take on Djokovic. This was the first time de Minaur reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
“It’s no secret that, at this stage of my career, this was the biggest match of my career. So wanted to do anything I could to play,” de Minaur said. “I knew what the results were yesterday, but I still wanted to wake up today and feel some sort of miracle and not feel it while I’m walking.”
He was told the hip could get worse if he played Wednesday.
“The problem with me going out and playing is that one stretch, one slide, one anything, can make this injury (recovery) go from three to six weeks to four months,” de Minaur said. “It’s too much to risk.”
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Associated Press
