Novak Djokovic into Wimbledon semis as Alex de Minaur withdraws

Novak Djokovic got a free pass into the Wimbledon semifinals Wednesday when his quarterfinal opponent, Alex de Minaur, withdrew with a hip injury.

De Minaur, an Australian who was seeded ninth at the All England Club, announced he was pulling out of the tournament hours before he and Djokovic were scheduled to play each other at Centre Court.

He suffered the injury on match point Monday, saying after his win over Arthur Fils that he "jarred" his hip while hitting a forehand.

Wednesday's match would have been de Minaur's first quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon. He made it that far at the French Open last month too.

Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz or Lorenzo Musetti on Friday for a berth in the final.

The second-seeded Djokovic has won seven of his men's record 24 Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.