McEnroe blames French Open for Djokovic injury: "Huge mistake"

John McEnroe is known for openly voicing his criticism, and the former US tennis superstar also did so during the French Open. McEnroe blames the organisation for its “absurd” decision to make Novak Djokovic play until after 3am before he had to withdraw through injury.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner, Djokovic was forced to withdraw from the tournament before his quarter-final matchup with Casper Ruud after he tore the meniscus in his right knee, per the BBC.

Djokovic had battled through his third round match against Lorenzo Musetti, eventually winning in five sets, with the match finishing at 3:07am CEST Sunday morning.

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The late finish time, which has been reported as the latest in French Open history by Tennis 365, was caused by the organisers’ decision to move another third round match to Court Philippe-Chatrier before Djokovic was set to play, delaying the Serb by up to two hours.

Djokovic’s injury reportedly occurred in the second set of the Serb’s fourth round match against Francisco Cerundolo, with trainers called to treat his knee.

McEnroe told Eurosport he believed Djokovic’s injury was at least in part caused by the French Open’s decision to delay his match up, saying, “You’ve got to know that had something to do with it.” The American went even further, telling Le Figaro, “Putting Djokovic, 37, on the court at 10:30pm… was a huge mistake.”

McEnroe, who won seven Grand Slam singles titles in his playing career, told Eurosport, “If you’re stiff in certain body parts, which I’m sure he was, you start to compensate and that’s when you can get in trouble.”

McEnroe’s condemnation of the French Open’s decision continued, telling Le Figaro, “In any case, you don’t treat a player, and even less the best in the world, that way.”

L’Equipe has reported the Serb has now undergone knee surgery to repair a partial meniscus tear, which has now put his chances at playing at Wimbledon in doubt. Djokovic was hoping to get revenge this year, having lost in five sets to Carlos Alcaraz in 2023.

With the rise of players such as Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, Djokovic will be rueing any missed opportunity to add to his world record 24 Grand Slams, could this injury see his era of dominance come to an end?

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