Djokovic Advances to Wimbledon Semis After De Minaur Withdraws

Novak Djokovic gets a free pass to the Wimbledon semifinals after Alex De Minaur withdraws.

Novak Djokovic advances to the semifinals at Wimbledon. / Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports

Novak Djokovic will advance to the Wimbledon semifinals without ever playing the quarterfinals. Alex De Minaur withdrew just hours before their match due to a hip injury.

"Obviously not an announcement I wanted to make, by any means," de Minaur said at a news conference. "I'm devastated."

De Minaur continued, "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."

De Minaur concluded, "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."

Wishing you a swift recovery, @alexdeminaur 💚💜#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/kUcHwWZ35J

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 10, 2024

The conversation around Djokovic's play at Wimbledon has swung drastically over the past month. Many fans worried the 24-time Grand Slam champion would not be able to play the tournament after undergoing knee surgery in June.

However, after Djokovic started his Wimbledon campaign, fans began to complain about how easy his path to the finals was compared to other players. That frustration was exacerbated after Djokovic taunted fans after his fourth-round match against Holger Rune.

Djokovic is just two wins away from tying Roger Federer's record of eight Wimbledon titles. The 37-year-old will face the winner of Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinals on Friday, July 12.

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Further Reading: Taylor Fritz's girlfriend deletes social media posts about Alexander Zverev.