Djokovic heads straight to Wimbledon semi-final as Alex De Minaur withdraws

Alex De Minaur is OUT of his Wimbledon quarter-final with Novak Djokovic.

The Australian has withdrawn due to an injury he sustained on match point in his previous match with Arthur Fils.

“Obviously not an announcement I wanted to make by any means,” De Minaur said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

“Yeah, I’m devastated but had to pull out due to a hip injury.

“I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against Fils and got a scan yesterday. It confirmed this was the injury and with high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court.

“It is no secret that at this stage of my career, it was the biggest match of my career.

“I knew the results yesterday but hoped I would wake up today and feel some sort of miracle.

“The problem with me going out and playing is one stretch, one slide, one anything can make this injury go from three-to-six weeks to four months.”

This means that Djokovic will progress straight to the Wimbledon semi-final, where he will face either Lorenzo Musetti or Taylor Fritz.

It is good news for the 24-time Grand Slam champion as he himself has been struggling with a knee injury after having surgery just weeks ago.

He tore his meniscus at the French Open and faced a battle to even be ready for Wimbledon.

Djokovic has been sporting a knee brace during the tournament and the extra days off will only aid his recovery.

“I am glad that you think it’s okay, that’s how it should seem, but it’s far from it,” Djokovic stated to Sport Klub.

“I did move a lot better compared to the first two matches, I am playing more freely in that regard, but it’s far from okay – we are working on the (physiotherapist’s) table all the time so that I am able to play every next match.”

It also gives the Serbian a couple more days to cool off from his spat with the Wimbledon crowd.

Djokovic was fired up by what he perceived as a disrespectful crowd in his fourth-round win after fans chanted ‘Ruuuune’ for his opponent Holger Rune.

He thought the crowd were booing him and hit back by wishing fans who showed ‘disrespect’ a ‘goooooood night’.

He added: “I don’t accept it. I know they were cheering for Rune, but that’s an excuse to also boo. I have played in much more hostile environments, trust me. You guys can’t touch me.”

The men’s Wimbledon semi-finals will take place on Friday, before the final on Sunday.

Djokovic will be hoping to win an eighth Wimbledon to tie Roger Federer’s record.

He could end up facing Carlos Alcaraz again, who will play Daniil Medvedev in the other semi-final.

Alcaraz beat Djokovic in a blockbuster final last year.