Jannik Sinner will make history with huge rankings milestone after Novak Djokovic blow

Jannik Sinner will become the ATP world No 1 for the first time in his career after Novak Djokovic withdrew from the 2024 French Open.

The 22-year-old will be the first Italian player in tennis history player to be the world No 1 when the rankings update after Roland Garros .

Sinner , who was ranked second heading into the French Open, will climb above Djokovic into top spot after the tournament.

Djokovic withdrew from the Paris Grand Slam after an MRI scan revealed today he had torn the medial meniscus in his right knee.

The Serbian suffered the injury in his fourth round victory against Francisco Cerundolo on Monday, where he came back from two sets to one down. The 37-year-old tennis legend was set to face Casper Ruud in the French Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Djokovic , who was the defending Roland Garros champion, could only have kept the No 1 ranking if he at least reached the final and Sinner failed to progress past the semi-finals.

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The news of Djokovic’s French Open withdrawal and Sinner’s ranking coronation broke during the Italian’s quarter-final against Grigor Dimitrov.

Sinner defeated the world No 10 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(3) to reach the last four of the clay-court Major for the first time in his career. He will face either Carlos Alcaraz or Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semi-finals.

The 22-year-old is looking to win his second consecutive Grand Slam title after securing his maiden Major at the Australian Open in January.

In an on-court interview after beating Dimitrov, Sinner gave his reaction to his huge achievement.

“What can I say? First of all, it’s every player’s dream to become No 1 in the world. In the other way, seeing Novak retiring here, I think it’s for everyone, disappointing, so I wish him a speedy recovery.

“I try to not think so much about this because this is a tournament where I used to struggle a lot, especially in the last two years. So I’m happy to be in the semi-finals, I’m gonna enjoy it. I will try to play my best tennis that I can.

“Thanks to my team that they make all this process possible because without them, it’s impossible. And also without you guys (the crowd). It’s a huge, it’s a special moment for me. And I’m happy to share this with you guys.”

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