PARIS — Novak Djokovic withdrew from the French Open on Tuesday due to an injured knee, ruining his title defense and causing him to lose the No. 1 ranking.
The tournament announced that Djokovic has a torn medial meniscus in his right knee. The depth of the injury was discovered during an MRI exam the day after Djokovic was injured in a fourth-round triumph over No. 23 Francisco Cerundolo that lasted five sets and more than 4 1/2 hours.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion was scheduled to face No. 7 Casper Ruud, the Roland Garros runner-up the last two years, in the quarterfinals Wednesday. Ruud earns a walkover into the semifinals, where he will face No. 4. Alexander Zverevor No. 11 Alex de Minaur.
With Djokovic, the owner of three French Open titles, and Rafael Nadal, the owner of a record 14, out in the first round, someone will wield the French Open men’s trophy for the first time this Sunday.
The remaining candidates include current No. 2 Jannik Sinner, a 22-year-old Italian who overcame No. 10 Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Tuesday to advance to the quarterfinals and is now certain to replace Djokovic atop the ATP rankings next week.
Sinner won the Australian Open in January, becoming the first player from his country to reach No.
“Seeing Novak (hurt) is terrible for everyone,” Sinner added, “so I hope he recovers quickly.”
In a season in which Djokovic is just 18-6 and has yet to reach a final, let alone win one, he needed to return to the title match at the French Open to continue adding to his record of most weeks at No. 1.
For years, Djokovic, Nadal, and Roger Federer dominated men’s tennis as the so-called Big Three, winning a total of 66 major titles between them. However, Federer, 42, has retired, and Nadal, 38, is unsure how much further he can compete after missing the most of the last 1 1/2 seasons due to injury.
No one knows how long Djokovic, 37, will be sidelined and what, if any, consequence
