Novak Djokovic undergoes surgery for medial meniscus tear in right knee

World No. 1 tennis player Novak Djokovic has undergone a surgery for a medial meniscus tear in his right knee – an injury that made him withdraw from the ongoing French Open 2024.

French media reported that the surgery took place on Wednesday and with the recovery period being close to three months, the Serb will miss the Wimbledon, the 2024 Paris Olympics and could even miss the US Open, later this year.

That means the wait for winning his record 25th Grand Slam title will be extended to mostly 2025 where he would have a go at the season’s opening Slam – the Australian Open.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion injured his knee during his fourth-round win over Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.

He took a couple of medical time-outs during the match and took a tumble later which aggravated the injury.

He announced his withdrawal from the French Open at Roland Garros on Tuesday after an MRI scan confirmed the medial meniscus tear.

He was supposed to meet Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.

The 37-year-old Djokovic said after Monday’s match that he had been dealing with a problem with his knee for a couple of weeks but it was manageable until he hurt it early in the second set of what turned into a five-set win over Francisco Cerundolo.

That was the 370th Grand Slam match win for Djokovic, breaking a tie with Roger Federer for the most in tennis history.

Djokovic was the No. 1 seed and defending champion at the French Open. He will be replaced by Jannik Sninner on Monday as the Serb has failed to defend his points.