He is the Cursed One: What went wrong the two times Novak Djokovic was given the walkover in Grand Slam finals?
Novak Djokovic received a walkover at a Grand Slam tournament for the third time in his career when Alex de Minaur withdrew ahead of the pair’s Wimbledon quarter-final.
World No 9 de Minaur suffered a hip injury near the end of his four-set last 16 victory against Arthur Fils and pulled out on the day of his match with Djokovic.
“I am devastated to pull out due to a hip injury, a little tear of the fibre cartilage that kind of is at the end of or connects to the adductor,” the 25-year-old Australian said in a statement.
“I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against Fils and got a scan yesterday and it confirmed that this was the injury and with high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court.
“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.”
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Djokovic will face 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti in the Wimbledon semi-finals on Friday as he looks to reach a 10th final at the All England Club.
Legendary coach and former world No 4 Brad Gilbert has suggested that the long break between matches may be challenging for the seven-time champion.
In a post on X, Gilbert, wrote: “Just thinking for ‘Djoker’, [it] will be three full days off for Friday semis, kinda tricky for most players to navigate practice and what to [do] with that many days off.”
Here, we look back at what happened the previous two times Djokovic’s opponent pulled out before a Grand Slam match.
2011 French Open
In 2011, Djokovic arrived at the French Open unbeaten after a blistering first five months of the season and entered with a staggering 39-match winning streak dating back to the 2010 Davis Cup Finals.
Prior to Roland Garros, Djokovic had won seven titles, including the Australian Open and Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid and Rome.
The Serbian, who was the No 2 seed, progressed to the quarter-finals after victories over Thiemo de Bakker, Victor Hanescu, Juan Martin del Potro and Richard Gasquet.
Djokovic was due to face Fabio Fognini in the last eight, but progressed to the semi-finals after the talented unseeded Italian was forced to pull out due to a leg injury.
In the last four, Djokovic fell to his rival Roger Federer, the No 3 seed, 6-7(5), 3-6, 6-3, 6-7(5) in a pulsating encounter. The defeat ended the great Serb’s incredible winning streak at 43 matches.
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2016 US Open
Heading into the 2016 US Open, Djokovic was having a superb season, although he had not been at the same level since winning the French Open to complete the career Grand Slam.
The No 1 seed defeated Jerzy Janowicz in four sets in the first round and was due to face Jiri Vesely in the second round, but received a walkover after the Czech withdrew due to a left forearm injury.
Djokovic was leading Mikhail Youzhny 4-2 in the opening set of his third round match when the Russian was forced to retire with a physical issue.
The Serbian dispatched Britain’s Kyle Edmund in straight sets in the fourth round, before another of his opponent’s was struck down with injury.
In the quarter-finals, Djokovic was leading ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga by two sets to love when the Frenchman retired due to a knee problem.
Djokovic defeated 10th seed Gael Monfils in a four-set semi-final, before losing 7-6(1), 4-6, 5-7, 3-6 to No 3 seed Stan Wawrinka in the championship match.
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