Wimbledon 2024: Novak Djokovic seals semi-final spot through walkover after Alex de Minaur suffers hip injury

Novak Djokovic cruises into his 13th Wimbledon semi-final without having to take the court!  His scheduled opponent, Alex de Minaur, was forced to withdraw from their quarter-final clash due to a hip injury. The Australian picked up the knock during his hard-fought four-set victory in the previous round. De Minaur, seeded ninth, announced his withdrawal just hours before the match, leaving Djokovic a free passage into the last four.

"Obviously not an announcement I wanted to make, by any means. I'm devastated," de Minaur said during a news conference.

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Alex De Minaur's Wimbledon dream run ended abruptly

De Minaur's Wimbledon dream run ended abruptly due to a hip injury. Though he battled through a four-set win over Arthur Fils on Monday, De Minaur revealed he heard a concerning pop towards the end of the match.  Initially optimistic,  Tuesday's medical scans exposed the severity of the injury. By Wednesday morning, a practice session confirmed De Minaur wouldn't be able to compete, forcing him to withdraw from his quarter-final clash against Novak Djokovic.

"It's no secret that, at this stage of my career, this was the biggest match of my career. So wanted to do anything I could to play. I knew what the results were yesterday, but I still wanted to wake up today and feel some sort of miracle and not feel it while I'm walking," de Minaur added.

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De Minaur acknowledged that playing could significantly worsen the injury, potentially leading to a much longer recovery time.

“The problem with me going out and playing is that one stretch, one slide, one anything, can make this injury (recovery) go from three to six weeks to four months. It's too much to risk,” he further added.

Djokovic storms into 13th Wimbledon semifinal

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic sailed into his 13th Wimbledon semifinal. A walkover win due to Alex de Minaur's injury sees him tie Roger Federer's record for most men's semifinal appearances at the prestigious tournament.  Djokovic, currently ranked second, has already etched his name in Wimbledon history with a record-breaking seven championships. The Serbian powerhouse now sets his sights on the final.  He'll face either Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti on Friday in a battle for the last hurdle.

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