Novak Djokovic a major doubt for Wimbledon as legend undergoes knee surgery after pulling out of French Open
NOVAK DJOKOVIC is a major doubt for Wimbledon after suffering a knee injury.
The world number one was forced to withdraw from the French Open ahead of his quarter-final clash with Casper Ruud.
Novak Djokovic is a doubt for Wimbledon after undergoing surgeryAlamy
APThe world number one tore his medial meniscus during his French Open clash on Monday[/caption]
Djokovic aggravated a problem in his knee during his fourth-round win over Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.
And a scan has revealed Djokovic has torn his medial meniscus in his right knee.
The Serb has undergone surgery which will take him three to six weeks to recover from.
Wimbledon begins on July 1 which means Djokovic faces a race against time to be fit.
He could decide not to rush back in order to avoid a reoccurrence of the problem in his knee, particularly with the Olympics around the corner.
Paris 2024 takes place at Roland-Garros and will offer Djokovic the opportunity to finally claim Olympic gold.
Djokovic’s best performance at the Games was a bronze medal he won in Beijing in 2008.
The 24-time grand slam champion finished as runner-up in SW19 last year after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
BEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERS
The top 10 richest stars in tennis
Djokovic, 37, blamed the surface at Roland-Garros for his injury, saying: “I don’t know what exactly they have done. It seems like some of the clay was removed, so there was very little, almost no clay on the court.
“Because of the drier conditions and sun and warmer conditions, it affects the clay in such a way that it becomes very slippery.
“So the injury that I had today with the knee happened exactly because of that, because I slipped, and I slide a lot. Everyone slides on clay, but I slipped way too many times. That is quite unusual.
“Of course I do, because I have an aggressive kind of movement, dynamic change of directions.
“It’s normal for me, I’ve slipped and fell on the clay many times in my life, and on grass as well, but this was just too many times.”
