The clock is ticking for Novak Djokovic and what appears to be a groin or hamstring strain after his quarter-final victory after he expressed fears the injury could hinder his pursuit of an 11th Australian Open and 25th grand slam title.
Djokovic overpowered Carlos Alcaraz in four sets in a match that finished close to 1am on Wednesday, fighting back after losing a first set when he received medical treatment on his upper thigh.
The former world No 1 declined to elaborate on the injury, saying only that it was similar to one he managed during his 2023 run to the Australian Open title. That was described as a 3cm tear in his hamstring at the time.
He faces the No 2 seed, Alexander Zverev, in a semi-final on Friday, offering a period of close to three days’ rest. “I’m concerned, physically,” Djokovic said.
Novak Djokovic defies injury to stun Carlos Alcaraz at Australian Open
Aryna Sabalenka ‘finds way out’ with final-set escape against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova
Alexander Zverev raises his game to down Tommy Paul and reach Melbourne semis again
Australian TV presenter apologises for ‘offensive’ Novak Djokovic comments
“But if I manage somehow to be physically good enough, mentally, emotionally, I’m as motivated as I can be.”
Djokovic appeared to pick up the injury in the first set when making a lateral movement during a rally and at one point crouched down and looked to his box, shaking his head. Trailing a break and 4-5, he went off court with a physio to receive treatment.
Although Djokovic lost the first set, he seemed to quickly recover his movement and won three sets to eliminate the No 3 seed. Djokovic said painkillers helped during the match, but he will know more when they begin to wear off.
“I’ve done tests with the physio when I had the medical timeout,” he said.
“He strapped me and then the doctor gave me some medication,” he said. “That kicked in after 20, 30 minutes. It did help, then I had to take another dose in the beginning of the fourth.”
Alcaraz said he failed to capitalise on his start and he noticed Djokovic was struggling in the second set but he failed to take advantage.
“Then the third and fourth set, I didn’t see anything bad from him,” Alcaraz said. “I’m not saying he made a show. I just saying I don’t know.”
The high-calibre match was the first of the tournament between two top 10 players and the first between the pair since the Paris Olympics gold medal decider last year.
That was won by Djokovic to complete his so-called “golden slam” of all four majors and the Olympic title.
Djokovic said his match on Tuesday was worthy of a higher stage than a quarter-final.
“Every set was super close, the crowd was into it, so much energy on the court, it was amazing,” he said. “It felt like it was finals of a slam. I wish it was.” – Guardian
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Join The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Listen to our Inside Politics podcast for the best political chat and analysis
