Novak Djokovic pulls out of French Open due to knee injury

Novak Djokovic has been forced to withdraw from the French Open due to a right knee injury, tournament organisers announced on Tuesday.

Djokovic will thus be unable to defend his title and also relinquishes his No1 ranking, with Jannik Sinner set to eclipse him and become the first ever Italian to top the men's rankings.

The Serbian great was supposed to face two-time French Open runner-up Casper Ruud in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

However, there was a question mark over the contest as Djokovic had suffered a knee injury during his five-set win over Francisco Cerundolo on Monday.

Early in the second set, Djokovic tweaked his knee and took a medical timeout. A trainer worked on the joint then and during subsequent changeovers, and Djokovic took what he said a tournament doctor told him was the maximum dose of pills allowed to dull the pain and reduce any inflammation.

Djokovic has withdrawn from Roland-Garros due to a right knee injury.

Wishing Novak a speedy recovery