Novak Djokovic advanced to his 13th Wimbledon semifinal, matching the record, without playing a match on Wednesday due to Alex de Minaur's withdrawal due to injury.
Australian ninth seed De Minaur, aged 25, declared at the All England Club around midday that he was 'devastated to withdraw because of a hip injury.' This withdrawal means Djokovic has now matched Roger Federer's men's record of 13 semifinal appearances at Wimbledon, as he approaches the Swiss legend's record of eight singles titles.
The 37-year-old Serbian player has reached his 49th men's Grand Slam semifinal, extending his record. De Minaur, who defeated Djokovic at the United Cup in January, stated: 'It's no secret that this would have been the biggest match of my career, but it's a unique injury.' He explained that there was a high risk of worsening the injury by playing, which could extend his recovery from three to six weeks to four months.
Djokovic, ranked number two globally, has not won a title this year and is still looking for his first victory against a top-10 player. However, a historic 25th Grand Slam victory is becoming increasingly likely for Djokovic, who dominated Holger Rune in straight sets in the fourth round. His impressive performance at the All England Club makes it easy to overlook his knee surgery following an injury at the recent French Open.
