Alex de Minaur’s injury means Novak Djokovic gets a walkover into the Wimbledon semi-finals.
It was utterly brutal for Australia’s Alex de Minaur who in the final point of his fourth-round Wimbledon win against Frenchman Arthur Fils, tweaked something and looked up anxiously to his team.
Announcing his withdrawal from his quarter-final against Novak Djokovic, the ninth seed said he heard a ‘loud crack’ in his hip, with a scan eventually revealing a small tear in the fibrocartilage.
Having originally hoped to play, the Australian lasted just ten minutes of his practice session, pulling out to limit the risk of injuring himself further, with Nick Kyrgios supporting De Minaur’s decision.
Djokovic instead takes on Lorenzo Musetti in the semi-final, after the Italian’s dynamic display against American Taylor Fritz.
Alex de Minaur takes to Instagram to post emotional message
The Australian reached a career-high of world number seven in June and has been in the best form of his career, backing up his quarter-final appearance at the French Open with one here at Wimbledon.
De Minaur wrote on Instagram: “There’s nothing I wanted to do more than go out and compete my hardest but my body didn’t allow me to. Heartbroken and devastated. Thank you to all the support always, I will be back stronger than before”.
The disappointed 25-year-old would have been hoping to level his head-to-head with Djokovic, with the Serb leading 2-1 despite the pair never having met on grass.
Nicknamed ‘Demon’, the Australian is known for his unbelievable speed and court coverage, as well as his gutsy, determined attitude.
Why are we seeing so many withdrawals at Wimbledon 2024?
The last fortnight has unfortunately been tarnished by the growing number of Wimbledon withdrawals from the top stars, with Andy Murray, Aryna Sabalenka, Madison Keys, and Anna Kalinskaya all being forced to pull out both before and during the tournament.
Player welfare has long been at the top of the agenda for both tennis bodies and players alike, yet will likely be further highlighted after Wimbledon.
Many of the tour’s stars have pulled out of the Olympics, blaming both the general intensity the tour brings, but more specifically the challenge of switching surfaces so frequently.
With Djokovic’s presence and form at Wimbledon somewhat miraculous given his knee injury and subsequent surgery after he pulled out at the same stage as De Minaur, the conversation surrounding player welfare has never been more pressing.
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