Novak Djokovic in semi-finals after Alex de Minaur withdraws

London, July 11 (HS). Novak Djokovic had an easy chance to enter the Wimbledon semi-finals on Wednesday when his quarter-final opponent Alex de Minaur withdrew from the match due to a hip injury.

De Minaur, the ninth seeded Australian at the All England Club, announced his withdrawal from the tournament just hours before his match with Djokovic at Centre Court. De Minaur said in a press conference, “Obviously I didn't want to announce this in any way. I am withdrawing from the tournament due to a hip injury.”

He said he felt the pain at the end of his 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 fourth-round win over Arthur Fils on Monday. When that match ended, de Minaur cautiously walked toward the net.

A medical examination on Tuesday made the seriousness of the injury clear, de Minaur said, but he wanted to at least give it a chance and try to play if possible. But it became clear during a practice session on Wednesday morning that there was no way he could compete. He said he could barely walk before the match, which would have been de Minaur's first quarterfinal at Wimbledon. He had made it that far at last month's French Open.

“It's no secret that at this stage of my career, this was the biggest match of my career. So I wanted to do anything to play. I knew what the results were yesterday, but I still wanted to wake up today and feel some kind of miracle and not feel like I'm walking away,” de Minaur said.

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He said he was told that his hip condition could get worse if he played another match.
“The problem for me with going out and playing is that one strain, one slide, one single thing, could extend this injury from three to six weeks to four months, and it's just too much to risk,” he said.

The walkover puts Djokovic into the Wimbledon semi-finals for the 13th time, which would see him equal Roger Federer for the most wins by a man in the tournament's history if he wins the title.
Second seed Djokovic has won seven Wimbledon titles. Djokovic will face either Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti on Friday for a place in the final.