Novak Djokovic has advanced into the semi-finals of the ongoing Wimbledon 2024 after his opponent, Alex de Minaur, withdrew from the tournament prior to his quarter-final clash due to injury.
Compeletesports.com earlier reported how tennis world No 1, Jannik Sinner, blamed his defeat to Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals on ill-health.
On health grounds too, but a different fashion, the ninth-seeded Australian, De Minaur, disclosed his withdrawal to compete against the seven-time champion Djokovic during the pre-match press conference, held on Wednesday, July 10.
He recounted his experience at the closing stages of his previous match against Arthur Fils, saying he was jarring his hip and did not recover in time for the quarter-final game against Djokovic.
“I’m devastated, but I had to pull out due to a hip injury, a little tear of the fiber cartilage that is at the end of the adductor,” De Minaur told reporters.
“I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against Fils and got a scan yesterday and it confirms that this was the injury. There is a high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court.”
De Minaur, who defeated Fils in four sets to reach the quarter-finals at a major for the third time, stressed that his withdrawal was hinged on preventing further injuries.
“It’s no secret that at this stage in my career this was the biggest match of my career,” he said.
“I wanted to do anything I could to play. I got the results yesterday. I knew what the results were yesterday. I still wanted to wake up today hoping that I would feel some sort of miracle and not feel it while I’m walking.
“The problem with me going out and playing is that one stretch, one slide, one anything, could make this injury go from three to six weeks to four months. It was too much to risk.”
By Dotun Omisakin
