Novak Djokovic undergoes successful knee surgery

NEW DELHI: The Serbian tennis icon Novak Djokovic on Thursday announced the successful completion of his surgery on his knee that caused him to withdraw from the ongoing French Open competition, where he was defending his men's singles title.

Djokovic on Tuesday withdrew from the ongoing French Open due to an injury in his right knee, just hours after making it to the quarterfinals of the tournament.

The official X handle of the French Open made the announcement just hours after Djokovic made it to the quarterfinals of the competition by beating Francisco Cerundolo by 6-1, 5-7, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. This match was another hard-fought affair for Djokovic, as he was trailing by two sets at one point, but he bounced back big time once again to prove his big-match prowess.

During his match against Cerundolo, Djokovic was struggling with his right knee.

"For the last couple weeks, I have had slight discomfort, I would call it, in the right knee, but I have not had an injury that would be concerning me at all. I was playing a few tournaments with it, and had no issues until today," said Djokovic after his win.

Now, taking to X, Djokovic informed his fans that his surgery for the injury was successful and thanked all the doctors involved.

"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," said Djokovic.

With Djokovic's withdrawal, Jannik Sinner attained his his top spot in the ATP Rankings, becoming the first-ever Italian player to achieve the feat.

Also, World No. 4 Alexander Zverev secured his place in the French Open semi-finals for the fourth successive year after a 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory over 11th seed Alex de Minaur.

Under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier, the German was not at his fluid best at times but dug deep when it counted to defeat De Minaur in straight sets.

The first semifinal will be between Zverev and Casper Ruud, who was supposed to face Djokovic but got a walkover. The other semifinal will be between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz made it to the semis as he defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. Sinner, on the other hand, defeated Grigor Dimitrov by 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (3-7).