Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title after quarter-final opponent Alex De Minaur was forced to withdraw due to a hip injury on Wednesday.
Ninth seed De Minaur sustained the injury in the closing stages of his 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 fourth-round win over Frenchman Arthur Fils on Monday.
The Australian played down the scare despite an initial shake of the head in the direction of his box on Court One, but shortly after midday ahead of his scheduled Centre Court clash with Djokovic, De Minaur dropped out of the Championships.
“I'm devastated to pull out due to a hip injury, a little tear of the fibre cartilage that is at the end of or connects to the abductor,” said De Minaur, who beat Djokovic at the United Cup team tournament in the opening week of the season.
“I felt a loud crack during the last three points of my match against Fils and got a scan yesterday and it confirmed this was the injury and with high risk of making it worse if I was to step on court.”
The 25-year-old has reached two Grand Slam quarter-finals, losing to Dominic Thiem at the 2020 US Open and Alexander Zverev at this year's French Open.
“I knew the results [of the scan] yesterday, but hoped I would wake up today and feel some sort of miracle,” added De Minaur, who is enjoying his best season on the tour having reached the top 10.
“The problem with me going out and playing is one stretch, one slide, one anything can make this injury go from three-to-six weeks to four months.”
The Australian is now in a race to be fit for the Olympics, where the tennis event begins at Roland Garros on July 27.
De Minaur's withdrawal means seven-times champion Djokovic equalled Roger Federer's record of 13 appearances in the Wimbledon semi-finals.
Djokovic is also looking to match the Swiss maestro's tally of eight titles at SW19 and the 37-year-old will next face Italian 25th seed Lorenzo Musetti who defeated Taylor Fritz of the US 3-6, 7-6, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz – who defeated Djokovic in last year's final – takes on Daniil Medvedev in Friday's other semi-final.
In the women's draw, Elena Rybakina sailed into the last four after ending Elina Svitolina's challenge with a 6-3, 6-2 victory on Centre Court.
The 2022 winner from Kazakhstan broke the Ukrainian 21st seed four times in a match lasting just 61 minutes. Rybakina was broken in the first game but hit back straight away and barely put a foot wrong after that.
“It's always tough to play against Elina, she's a great player, great fighter. No matter the score, it is not as easy as it might look like,” she said.
“Of course I have such amazing memories from 2022 and I'm just enjoying every time I step on the court, especially when I play good. It's just really amazing.”
Rybakina ended her win with her seventh ace and improved to 19-2 at Wimbledon in four appearances. “I have an aggressive style of game,” she added. “I have a huge serve, so it’s a big advantage.”
Next up for Rybakina will be Barbora Krejcikova after the Czech 31st seed reached her first Wimbledon semi-final following her straight-sets win over Jelena Ostapenko in the battle of former French Open champions.
Krejcikova – victorious at Roland Garros in 2021 – kept her composure from the back of the court to force the 2017 Paris Grand Slam winner from Latvia into 35 unforced errors across the match.
“I don't have any words right now,” said Krejcikova. “Just a minute ago, I told myself that I'm going to leave here everything I have and I'm really happy that I did and yeah, it's a great moment for me.
“It's an unbelievable moment that I'm experiencing right now in my tennis career.”
The 28-year-old has struggled since coming back from illness and injury, winning only three matches on tour between February and June. “It was a very, very difficult period,” Krejcikova added. “It was actually super difficult even before this tournament. I really want to thank my team that is there today.
“There have been many doubts from inside but also from the outside world but I'm super happy that I never give up and that I'm standing here right now and that I qualified to be in the semi-finals.”
The other women's semi-final is between Italian seventh seed Jasmine Paolini and Croatia's Donna Vekic.
