Novak Djokovic advanced to the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday after his opponent, Alex de Minaur, withdrew due to a hip injury.
De Minaur, seeded ninth, announced his withdrawal a few hours before their scheduled match at Centre Court.
“It’s not the announcement I wanted to make at all,” de Minaur said at a press conference. “I’m devastated.”
He mentioned hearing a crack towards the end of his fourth-round victory on Monday, downplaying it initially but revealing the seriousness after further evaluation.
Djokovic now matches Roger Federer with 13 Wimbledon semifinal appearances, and he has previously won seven of his record 24 Grand Slam titles at this event.
Next, Djokovic will await the winner between Taylor Fritz and Lorenzo Musetti for a spot in the final.
Despite efforts to play through the injury, de Minaur realized during a practice session on Wednesday morning that competing wasn’t feasible.
“This match would have been one of the biggest in my career,” he said. “I hoped for a miracle today but couldn’t ignore the reality of how I felt physically.”
