French Open 2024: Novak Djokovic Injury Spree Continues, Carlos Alcaraz Into The Semi-Finals. The French Open continues at Roland Garros with Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner, Richard Gasquet, and Casper Rudd into the semi-finals and defending champion Novak Djokovic, who had made it into the quarterfinals, bowed out due to a right-knee injury.
The Serbian player took to Instagram to inform his fans and followers that he was withdrawing from the French Open. Djokovic said he played with his heart and unfortunately because of a medial meniscus tear in his right knee, they had to take a tough call.
Novak Djokovic Riddled With Injuries
In a post-match press conference, the World No.1 singles champion revealed he has had slight discomfort for the last couple of weeks in his right knee. Djokovic, 37, clarified that he hasn’t had an injury that would be concerning at all.
Also Read: French Open 2024 Predictions: Who Will Win Men’s & Women’s Singles?
The G.O.A.T’s latest injury comes after last month’s Italian Open where he was accidentally hit on the head by a water bottle when he was leaving the court. He tested for a concussion. Djokovic’s surprising loss to Chilean Alejandro Tabilo just 67 minutes into play, drew attention to his head injury. He highlighted that he received medical care when he suffered an hour of nausea, dizziness, blood, and headaches. After losing to Tabilo, the tennis sensation said the injury left him as a different person – there was no rhythm, no tempo, no balance.
Carlos Alcaraz Crushes Stefanos Tsitsipas, Set for Semi-Finals
Stefanos Tsitsipas applauded Alcaraz’s delivery of shots saying he hasn’t seen this kind of play before. The Tsitsipas, who’s ranked as World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATF), in a post-match interview, shared that Carlos, 21, delivers a shot quality that he doesn’t quite get against other opponents.
The Greek professional tennis player said it gets him into trouble as the Spanish player’s shot is deep and has a lot of top spin and he is not able to counter that with something as good or even more. Tsitsipas, 25, added that Alcaraz in a way overpowers him in a constructive way. Alcaraz won 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 against the ninth seed Tsitsipas.
Alcaraz, on his part, applauded the match. He said there were ups and downs in the game and he managed to control his emotions on the court by staying calm. About playing against Jannik Sinner, the youngster described the Italian as the best player in the world. Alcaraz said they played the quarterfinal in 2022.
He added that Sinner pushes him to play his best and give his 100 percent.
