Djoker out of pack with injured right knee

Paris, June 4

Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open with an injured right knee, ending his title defence and meaning he will relinquish the No. 1 ranking. The tournament announced the news, saying Djokovic has a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. The extent of the injury was found during an MRI exam a day after Djokovic was hurt during a fourth-round victory against No. 23 Francisco Cerundolo that lasted five sets spread across more than 4-and-a-half hours.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion was supposed to face two-time French Open runner-up Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Djokovic’s knee had been bothering him for a couple of weeks before he arrived at Roland Garros — something he kept to himself until after the win against Cerundolo. Early in the second set on Monday, Djokovic tweaked his knee and took a medical timeout. A trainer worked on the joint then and during subsequent changeovers, and Djokovic took what he said a tournament doctor told him was the maximum dose of pills allowed to dull the pain and reduce any inflammation.

Amid a season in which he is only 18-6 and has not reached a final at any tournament, he needed to get back to the title match in Paris to retain his hold atop the ATP rankings. With Djokovic, the owner of three French Open titles, gone from the bracket, and Rafael Nadal — owner of a record 14 — eliminated in the first round, someone will be holding the French Open men’s trophy for the first time on Sunday.

The group of remaining contenders includes current No. 2 Jannik Sinner, who defeated No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov 6-2 6-4 7-6(3) today to reach the semifinals. — Agencies