Two of the top Tennis players, Marin Cilic and Denis Shapovalov have been ruled out of the upcoming US Open due to knee injuries. The Grand Slam tournament is set to commence on August 28. Cilic's time away from the court keeps extending especially in the Grand Slam competitions and has featured only in two matches this year with none being in Grand Slams.
This has affected his ranking as well with Croatian falling to 121 rank this week. On the other hand, Shapovalov hasn't played a single competitive game since his fourth round loss in the Wimbledon in July. His best performance in Grand Slam has been the semi-final finish at the Wimbledon two years ago. The Canada Tennis confirmed the development regarding his injury in a social media post stating that he did everything possible to be ready for the US Open but it didn't work.
"Despite doing everything possible to be 100% healthy in time for @usopen, my knee needs more time and I sadly have to withdraw. That grand slam energy, especially in NYC, is unlike anything else and I’m really going to miss playing in front of the amazing fans there this year!" his tweet read.
Novak Djokovic wins his first singles match in US since 2021
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is getting ready for the US Open and is currently playing in Western and Southern Open happening in the country. He lost the doubles match the other day but defeated Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday registering his first win in US since 2021. Perhaps, his opponent retired early in the second set with the lower-back injury.
"Kind of a mixed emotions tonight. Really like Alejandro. Get along really well off the court. We train with each other while in Spain. He told me he has a lower back issue that appeared yesterday. It's unfortunate," Djokovic said after the match. The 23-time Grand Slam winner will now face Frenchman Gael Monfils on Thursday against whom he has not lost in 18 matches so far.
