Djokovic sparks concerns over injured knee in French Open title defence

PARIS: Top seed Novak Djokovic has raised concerns about his ability to continue his title defence at the French Open after his grueling five-set victory over Argentine Francisco Cerundolo on Monday. The 37-year-old tennis star revealed that he briefly considered withdrawing from the match due to a troubling knee injury.

Djokovic’s 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Cerundolo, which lasted four hours and 39 minutes, marked his second consecutive marathon match, following a challenging third-round encounter with Lorenzo Musetti. Throughout the match against Cerundolo, Djokovic required medical attention and medication to manage the pain in his right knee.

The knee issue, which Djokovic has been experiencing for several weeks, intensified when he slipped and tweaked it during the third game of the second set. Reflecting on the incident, Djokovic said, “At one point I didn’t know whether I should continue or not with what’s happening. I got the medications and then, after the third set was done, I asked for more medications and got them.”

Despite the discomfort, Djokovic pressed on with the help of a trainer who attended to his knee. He attributed the injury to the numerous slips he experienced on the clay court, explaining, “Everyone slides on clay, but I slipped way too many times. That is quite unusual. I do, because I have an aggressive kind of movement, dynamic change of directions. It’s normal for me. I’ve slipped and fallen on the clay many times in my life, and on grass as well, but this was just too many times today.”