Former world No.1 John McEnroe blasted organisers at Roland Garros following Novak Djokovic’s withdrawal from the tournament with a knee injury.
The Serbian star had an operation in Paris on Thursday, two days after he hurt the knee early in the second set of a five-set victory against Francisco Cerundolo in the fourth round.
But he withdrew before the quarters. Djokovic said the surgery on his right knee “went well” after and hopes to return to competition “as soon as possible.”
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The world No.1 – who will drop to at least No.2 by Monday – had to endure a rough run through the tournament, with a 3am finish in his third-round encounter with Lorenzo Musetti after the Italian forced him into five sets.
He did not have much time to fully recover from his first five-setter, and he went on to tear his meniscus during his last-16 match.
“It was a joke that they put him out at 10.30pm [against Musetti],” McEnroe told Eurosport. “It was a great match, and then it goes to three in the morning. Absurd.
“Then to have to come back and go through another marathon match. If this doesn’t change the mentality of the majors about this type of schedule, I don’t know what would, because he’s the No.1 player in the world.
“You got the top seed, arguably the best player that ever lived getting hurt, and that contributed to it. Having to play till three in the morning, you can’t tell me that didn’t have an effect on his body, his system, or his recovery.”
Djokovic was supposed to face No.7 seed Casper Ruud, the runner-up each of the past two years in Paris, in the quarter-finals. Instead, Ruud got a walkover into the semi-finals, where he will face No.4 Alexander Zverev on Saturday.
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“He’s an all-time great, maybe the greatest, and it’s a shame. Obviously, we are all hoping that he plays [at Wimbledon]. It would be a shame if it exacerbated an already bad situation by having him withdraw.”
McEnroe said how scheduling played a role in Djokovic’s injury was “a bad look” and “a black eye for our sport” while questioning certain decisions by organisers, namely moving Grigor Dimitrov’s third-round match against Zizou Bergs from Court 14 to Court Philippe-Chatrier, as the tournament tried to catch up for lost time due to significant rain delays.
“Does LeBron James play the NBA finals at three in the morning? There’s [been] a lot of rain, and they were trying to catch up, but they didn’t need to put Grigor Dimitrov on that court. That just put everything off.
“I don’t know what they were thinking, other than they just wanted to get through. What did they think, that the other guy [Bergs] would just roll over and not try, or something? “So the whole thing was, it’s a black eye for our sport, truthfully.”
Djokovic posted to social media to give fans an update on his condition and thanked them for their “overwhelming support.”
“In the past day, I had to make some tough decisions after sustaining a meniscus tear during my last match. I’m still processing it all but I am happy to update you that the surgery went well. I am so appreciative of the team of doctors who have been by my side,” Djokovic wrote.
“I’m going to do my best to be healthy and fit to return to the court as soon as possible”. “My love for this sport is strong and the desire to compete at the highest level is what keeps me going.”
It is unclear exactly how long his recovery will take and when he will be able to play next.
Wimbledon, where he has won seven of his 24 grand slam titles, begins on July 1. The tennis events for the Paris Olympics start on July 27 at Roland-Garros.