Novak Djokovic WITHDRAWS from the French Open with a knee injury before quarter-final clash - hours after on-court domestic with his wife

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the French Open and faces a race against time to be fit for Wimbledon after an MRI scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.

The 37-year-old suffered the injury in his fourth-round match against Francisco Cerundolo but still managed to win in five sets. But scans revealed the bad news and he was forced to pull out of his quarter-final match against Casper Ruud, due to be played on Wednesday.

As a consequence, the 24-time Grand Slam champion will lose his world No1 ranking to Italian Jannik Sinner after the French Open.

With Wimbledon less than four weeks away, the odds would appear to be against Djokovic playing the Championships. The next major event is the Olympic Games back here at Roland Garros in July and August.

During and after his match against Cerundolo, Djokovic complained about the state of the clay surface on Philippe Chatrier and asked for the court to be brushed more frequently, a request which was denied. He blamed the condition of the court for the slip which caused his injury – exacerbating pain in the knee which he revealed he had felt for a couple of weeks before Roland Garros.

'Could this injury have been prevented?' he said after the match. 'Possibly, if there was just a little bit more of a frequent care of the court during the set. That's all I ask for.'

Djokovic was also seen having a domestic dispute with his wife Jelena during the five-set win over Cerundolo.

He found himself a break up at 2-0 in the decisive fifth set, but after conceding a point for 30-30 he was visibly incensed. 

Djokovic then walked back to pick up more balls to begin his next service, before turning to his family in the box on Court Philippe-Chatrier. 

The cameras caught the tense exchange, with Djokovic gesturing angrily with his hands and shouting up at his team. 

His wife can then be seen stood up in the box in the stands, responding in kind to her husband as he raged on court.

Djokovic's withdrawal comes just minutes after the French Open account on social media platform X published a video of the Serb arriving at Roland-Garros with the caption 'marathon man is here'. The post was later deleted.

His previous game, the five-set comeback against Lorenzo Musetti, had finished at 3.07am local time in Paris.

Speaking after his fourth-round win, Djokovic revealed for the first time that he had been struggling with a knee problem.

'For the last couple weeks I have had slight discomfort in the right knee,' he said.

'But I was playing with it and no issues until today. Of course the late finish from few nights ago didn't help.

'In the third game of the second set, I slipped, one of the many times I slipped and fell today. That affected the knee.

'At one point I didn't know, to be honest, whether I should continue. I got medication and then, after the third set, I asked for more.

'That was the maximum dose that kicked in after 30 to 45 minutes, which was just about the end of the fourth when things started to really improve.

'Basically the whole fifth set was almost without any pain. But the effect of the medication will not last for too long. We have done some tests with the doctor after the match. Some positive news but also some concerns, so let's see tomorrow.'

During the match with Cerundolo, he summoned tournament supervisor to the court Wayne McKewen to answer his complaints.

'Explain to me, why is it such a big issue to get people to sweep the court?' said Djokovic.

'I screwed up my knee because I made a quick move. I'm sliding and slipping all the time.

'The only thing I am asking is if every second changeover you can sweep the court.'

'I've asked and the groundsman said the court is normal, for them,' said McKewan.

'For them?! I'm telling you as a player it's not OK and you're going to go with the grounds people that never play tennis. They know better than me the court is good or not? Ridiculous. Completely ridiculous.'

Djokovic had been aiming to secure a 25th Grand Slam title at this year's tournament in Paris.

He will lose his world No 1 status to Sinner, who beat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to progress to the semi-finals.

After overcoming Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6, Sinner was told on court that he would become Italy's first ever world No1.

'It's everyone's dream to become the No1 in the world,' he said. 'But to see Novak retire from this tournament is disappointing. I wish him a speedy recovery.'