PARIS, June 5: Novak Djokovic has decided to have surgery for a medial meniscus tear in his right knee and could miss Wimbledon, the French newspaper L’Equipe reported Wednesday, without citing a source.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion injured his knee during a fourth-round victory at the French Open on Monday, then announced he was withdrawing from the tournament on Tuesday. He was supposed to play in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
L’Equipe said the operation would be Wednesday in Paris.
Djokovic’s agent, Mark Madden, did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
Wimbledon, where Djokovic has won seven trophies, begins on July 1. The tennis competition at the Summer Olympics in Paris starts on July 27. The 37-year-old Djokovic said after Monday’s match that he had been dealing with a problem with his knee for a couple of weeks, but it was manageable until he hurt it early in the second set of what turned into a five-set win over Francisco Cerundolo.
That was the 370th Grand Slam match win for Djokovic, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most in tennis history. Djokovic was the No. 1 seed and defending champion at Roland Garros. He will be replaced atop the ATP rankings by Jannik Sinner on Monday. (AP)
