Novak Djokovic is through to the Wimbledon semi-finals without playing a point after his opponent Alex de Minaur withdrew from their quarter-final because of injury.
Djokovic was set to face De Minaur second on Centre Court following the conclusion of the women’s quarter-final between Elena Rybakina and Elina Svitolina.
De Minaur, the ninth seed, informed the media he was “devastated” to have to withdraw because of a hip injury.
“I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against [Arthur] Fils and got a scan yesterday which confirmed the injury,” said the Australian. “I was at high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court.”
De Minaur explained that the injury, a tear to the cartilage, could rule him out for between anything from the next three to six weeks, adding that he had been struggling to sleep for the last two days.
“It’s no secret that this was the biggest match of my career, so I wanted to do anything I could to play,” De Minaur said. “I knew the results [of the scan] yesterday but still wanted to wake up today hoping for some sort of miracle and not to feel it whilst I was walking. The problem with me going out and playing is that one stretch or slide or anything could make this injury go from three to six weeks to four months, so it was too much to risk.
“It’s devastating, no way to beat around the bush. I haven’t been able to really enjoy what I’ve achieved this week. As soon as I felt that pop I knew something bad had happened. It has been two days of worrying and waiting to see what the results show. In the grand scheme of things it could have been worse, so I’m trying to hold on to that.
More to follow…
The Telegraph
