Every event has its upsides and downsides. Take the example of the ongoing Wimbledon Championships. Earlier today, Australia’s Alex de Minaur pulled out of his quarterfinal match against Novak Djokovic due to a hip injury. It was a saddening end for de Minaur, who had given his all in this tournament. On the other hand, it was a blessing in disguise for Djokovic, who was making a comeback at Wimbledon after undergoing knee surgery before the tournament. Although he received a walkover into the semifinals, it can potentially have a major impact on his rhythm.
The Serb played his pre-quarterfinal match against Holger Rune on Monday and was slated to play against de Minaur later today. However, with de Minaur pulling out at the 11th hour, Djokovic will have a three-day break as his semifinal match will take place on Friday. Hours ago, Coco Gauff’s coach, Brad Gilbert pondered if this break might affect Djokovic’s rhythm going into the last four of the tournament.
Taking to his official Twitter handle, Gilbert wrote, “Just thinking for Djoker will be 3 full days off for friday semis, kinda tricky for most players to navigate practice and what to with that many days off.” It has been contrasting fortunes for Djokovic after he suffered a similar fate as de Minaur earlier this year at the French Open. The Serb had to withdraw before his quarterfinal encounter there due to a knee injury. However, he recovered well from the knee surgery and has breezed into the semifinals of this year’s Wimbledon Championships.
Many are not happy with this easy fate Djokovic seems to have received, but if Carlos ALcaraz manages a win over Daniil Medvedev in the semis tomorrow, it might be a repeat of 2023. Last year, the Spaniard put a stop to the Serbian’s Grand Slam rampage as he won 3 out of 4 majors. While this year is in stark contrast, Djokovic might not be in the best of forms after three days off and will have to keep his form, as Gilbert put it.
On the contrary, it was a saddening end to the Australian Demon’s campaign, having put his best foot forward in this tournament. It was his best performance here and he was looking to go even further deep in the tournament, had it not been for the unfortunate hip injury. While announcing his withdrawal, de Minaur caught a dejected look and got emotional.
Alex de Minaur left devastated after pulling out of the match against Novak Djokovic
Shortly after his pre-quarterfinal match against Arthur Fils, de Minaur underwent medical tests which revealed that he suffered a tear in cartilage in his hip. The Australian star was even caught in an uncomfortable position during the closing stages of this match, which gave signs that all was not well with him. Eventually, he had to make up his mind to pull out of the tournament to prevent his injury from aggravating.
Revealing his decision, a ‘devastated’ de Minaur said, “Obviously not an announcement I wanted to make by any means. I had high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court. It’s been two days of worrying and waiting to see. In the grand scheme of things it could’ve been worse, I’m trying to hold on to that. It’s a freak injury.”
It remains to be seen if Alex de Minaur can avoid surgery in order to return to playing soon. The Australian star is hoping to participate in the upcoming Paris Olympics and he wouldn’t want his injury to come in his way of fulfilling his Olympic dream.
