The Serbian Novak Djokovic, world number 1 and current Roland Garros champion, is withdrawing from the tournament due to the right knee injury he suffered in the round of 16 against the Argentine Francisco Cerúndolo, the organization announced.

With this withdrawal, which directly qualifies the Norwegian Casper Ruud for the semifinals for the third consecutive year, Djokovic will give up the world number 1 to the Italian Jannik Sinner, who will thus become the first tennis player from his country to reach it.

"The player suffers a tear in the medial meniscus of his right knee that was discovered in the MRI he underwent this Tuesday," Roland Garros said in a statement.

The 37-year-old Serbian sought to defend the title won last year in Paris and thus add his 25th Grand Slam, one more than the Australian Margaret Court, with whom he until now shared that record.

Djokovic was forced to play ten sets in less than 48 hours, with more than 9 hours on court and after having finished his third round duel against the Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the wee hours of the morning.

Two days later, after winning the first set against Cerúndolo, he suffered from a discomfort in his knee that he had had for weeks due to a bad movement, which kept him almost inactive for almost two sets.

The Serbian later complained about the poor condition of the court, stating that he asked the organizers to sweep it, but that they did not do so, which could have caused the injury to worsen. "You have ruined my knee," the Serbian came to tell the visibly upset track attendants. He also noted that "wear and tear" may have contributed to his knee being damaged.

Despite this problem, the doctors administered an anti-inflammatory that took about 40 minutes to take effect, but left him recovered, allowing him to re-engage in the duel at the end of the fourth set and end up adding his 370th Grand Slam victory. , surpassing the Swiss Roger Federer in that record.

Djokovic, who is already the male tennis player with the most Grand Slams, two more than Rafa Nadal, arrived in Paris without any title in his cabinet, in a season in which he has measured his appearances on the court and given preference to the greats.

He was looking for his fourth crown at Roland Garros, the second in a row. He easily overcame the first two rounds, against the Frenchman Pierre-Hugues Herbert and the Spanish Roberto Carballés, but against Musetti, in a match that started very late, he was forced into a tough fight, which he ended up winning in five sets at 3 o'clock. am.

Two days later, he battled again against Cerúndolo, whom he beat after 4 hours and 39 minutes, the longest match the Serbian has ever played in Paris, surpassing the one he played against Nadal in 2013.