Novak Djokovic releases emotional statement after pulling out of French Open with injury
Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open ahead of his quarter-final match.
Novak Djokovic has broken his silence after pulling out of the French Open with a knee injury. The world No. 1 fell and hurt himself during his fourth-round victory over Francisco Cerundolo on Monday and raised doubts over the rest of the tournament.
After having an MRI scan the following day, he withdrew upon learning that he suffered a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion has now released an emotional statement, explaining that he had to make the tough decision to end his title defence early after playing "with [his] heart".
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"I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from #rolandgarros," the 37-year-old wrote on social media after the tournament announced his withdrawal.
"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. See you soon."
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Djokovic did not give a time frame for his recovery but Wimbledon begins in just under five weeks. Meniscus tears can sometimes heal with enough rest and medication, but they can also require surgery.
The Serb had already been feeling some discomfort in his right knee for a couple of weeks but he explained that it hadn't caused him any issues on the court until he slipped and injured himself early in the second set against Cerundolo.
"I did carry it with me for a couple of weeks, but I did not feel that it was affecting me on the court. Meaning as soon as I would warm up, I would feel fine. I would run, I would do splits, slides, whatever. You know, it wasn't any kind of an issue when I start to play," he said on Monday night.
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" When I was cold, that's where I feel the discomfort, et cetera. So today, again, we did put an extra care and attention to the knee in the last few days, my physio and I. It's like we, you know, predicted something might happen, so yeah, that helped, but I don't know.
"I mean, today is just one of these things when you're on the court, you slip, do a bad move, you're in an unstable, unbalanced position. I guess that's probably a weaker part of my body that has had some few weeks of history, I guess, that reacted, you know."
