Tennis legend Novak Djokovic will face Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the semifinal at Wimbledon.
Djokovic's quarterfinal opponent Alex de Minaur was forced to withdraw due to a hip injury, and Musetti defeated Taylor Fritz in a five-setter.
The news came a few hours before the quarterfinal was scheduled to be played on Wednesday afternoon.
Obviously not an announcement I wanted to make. I'm devastated to have to withdraw, says the ninth-ranked Australian.
The injury occurred during Monday's round of 16 match against Arthur Fils. The extent of the injury was revealed by medical examinations on Tuesday, but despite this, he wanted to give it a chance.
After a training session on Wednesday morning, it became clear that the quarterfinal could not be played.
It's no secret that at this stage of my career, this was the biggest match of my career, so I wanted to do everything I could to play, says de Minaur.
In the semifinal, to be played on Friday, Djokovic will face Lorenzo Musetti. The 25th-ranked Italian defeated American Taylor Fritz in a five-setter after turning around a 0–1 deficit in sets. The set scores were 3–6, 7–6 (7–5), 6–2, 3–6, 6–1.
