With Alex de Minaur’s last-minute withdrawal from Wednesday’s match, Novak Djokovic advances to the Wimbledon semifinals.
After openly criticizing the jeering British audience in a heated on-court interview on Monday, calling them out for their rudeness and angrily asserting they “can’t touch” him, Djokovic was poised for an extremely unpleasant return to Centre Court.
However, due to an injury sustained in his last encounter, De Minaur was forced to withdraw from his planned quarterfinal matchup with the 24-time Grand Slam winner. For the Australian, who is dating Katie Boulter, the British No. 1 star, it’s a severe setback.
It means that Djokovic will next face either 13th-seed Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti as he looks to continue his quest for an eighth Wimbledon trophy.
De Minaur, explaining his mid-tournament withdrawal, said: ‘I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against [Arthur] Fils.
‘[I] got a scan yesterday and it confirmed that this was the injury, with high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court.
‘I wanted to do anything I could to play [against Novak Djokovic]. I wanted to wake up today hoping that I would feel some sort of miracle and not feel it while I’m walking.
‘They haven’t been able to tell me a definite recovery plan because it’s such a unique injury.
‘Based on pain right now, it can be anywhere from three to six weeks. It just depends on how quickly my body heals.’
Djokovic abruptly ended a BBC interview this week when he was persistently asked about the Wimbledon crowd who had been booing him.
Meanwhile, John McEnroe has urged the Wimbledon crowds to show Djokovic more respect, even if he is the ‘Darth Vader’ of professional men’s tennis.
According to John Lloyd, Djokovic’s outburst stems from his being “annoyed” by fellow Big Three greats Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer’s success.
Regarding Djokovic, Lloyd remarked, “I think deep down he gets a bit annoyed at some of his rivals, in particular Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and they were so popular on court.”
‘Novak, sometimes, is just not as popular as those two. Well who would be? And I think sometimes he gets a little bit annoyed at it, the crowd gets on him, thinks it’s a bit personal, it isn’t.’