“I’ll be all right. I’ll find a way.” These were the determined words of Australian tennis player Alex De Minaur after his intense fourth-round clash at Wimbledon. The match had been a grueling battle, and after hitting a stunning match-winning volley, de Minaur was seen limping as he proceeded towards the net to shake hands with Arthur Fils. But as the hours turned into days, it became clear that the injury was more serious than initially thought. Finally, De Minaur decided to withdraw from his Wimbledon campaign ahead of the quarterfinal match at the All England Club.

Australian tennis star Alex de Minaur’s dream run at Wimbledon ended abruptly due to a hip injury. Ranked No. 1 in Australia and No. 9 in the world, de Minaur was in the midst of his best season ever. However, he suffered a torn cartilage in his hip during his fourth-round victory over Arthur Fils on Monday. Despite initially downplaying the injury, scans revealed the seriousness of the issue.

De Minaur was forced to withdraw from the tournament on Wednesday, just as he was about to face Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals. This unfortunate turn of events gives Djokovic a free pass to the semi-finals, where he’ll play either Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti. The decision was conveyed by Minaur himself, who looked gutted to share the information.

The 25-year-old called an emergency press conference and informed that he would not be able to compete any longer at Wimbledon. “Obviously not an announcement I wanted to make by any means. I am devastated to pull out due to a hip injury, a little tear of the fibre cartilage that kind of is at the end of or connects to the adductor.” Continuing further, he explained the importance of the match to him but expressed the precautions he wished to take. 

“It is no secret that at this stage of my career, it was the biggest match of my career. I wanted to do anything I could. I knew the results yesterday but hoped I would wake up today and feel some sort of miracle. The problem with me going out and playing is that one stretch, one slide, one anything can make this injury go from three-to-six weeks to four months. So, it is too much, too risky.” Minaur’s decision has shocked tennis fans and experts alike who expressed their surprise over social media platforms.  

‘Is this the easiest finals run?’ Fans in disbelief over Alex De Minaur’s Withdrawal

Soon after De Minaur decided to halt his Wimbledon campaign, a user took to the microblogging platform X to share the news. “Alex De Minaur has WITHDRAWN from his match vs Novak Djokovic today. Djokovic into the semi-finals vs Fritz or Musetti…” Responding to this, many other X users expressed their disbelief and pointed out the luck that Nole is experiencing. Taking to X, one user wrote, “is this the easiest finals run of all time?” hinting that Djokovic might face fewer difficulties in his campaign.

In the first three rounds that Djokovic played at the All-England Club, he faced players who were ranked outside of the top 40. In fact, other than Alexei Popyrin who the Serbian faced in the third round, the other two players, Vit Kopriva and Jacob Fearnley are placed out of the top 100 players (123 and 277 respectively). The only high-ranked contender that Nole faced was 15th seed Holger Rune. Now with De Minaur exiting Wimbledon, the Serbian legend’s difficulties have seemed to ease down further. He will either face Musetti or Fritz in the semifinals, and both players are ranked much below him in the ranking table. 

Another user quickly joined the fray and shared, “Djokovic’s luck is unmatched.” Indeed! Reaching the semifinals for a player who underwent surgery in June and whose return was not anticipated for Wimbledon even by the doctors is not just a matter of skills. There has to be a luck factor. For the unversed, the Serbian star withdrew from the Roland Garros quarterfinals after he tore the medial meniscus of his right knee. He was anticipated to return to the courts only around the Olympics, but he truly defied the odds. 

Other X users also resonated with similar sentiments. One user expressed the high stature of Novak and highlighted the luck that he experiences despite his skills. “Djoko is the GOAT, and still have lucky 😵‍💫.” Djokovic has 24 Grand Slam titles to his name and De Minaur’s withdrawal can help him boost his run to clinch his 25th title and his 8th on the grass courts. One more user highlighted the easy challenges that Djokovic is facing and prayed for Carlos Alcaraz.

“Djokovic always easy draws on gs….. WHAT a pitty hope Alcaraz secure his title as defending champion🙈” Alcaraz lifted his first Wimbledon title in 2023. With the Spaniard reaching the semi-finals again, it will be interesting to see if he clashes with Djokovic for the finals and repeats the 2023 final showdown. Interestingly, it was Alcaraz vs Djokovic in the 2023 Wimbledon finals as well! Another user responded similarly and highlighted Djokovic’s luck yet again. “Can anyone remember a flukest Wimbledon run?”

As the tournament progresses, it will be interesting to see if De Minaur’s withdrawal proves to be a boon for the Serbian legend in his Wimbledon run.