Novak Djokovic has given a worrying update on his injury as his participation in the Australian Open semi-finals where he will face second seed Alexander Zverev is in serious doubt. Djokovic struggled physically in the first two sets of his quarterfinal match against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday, taking a medical timeout before returning with a tight upper left thigh.
After an impressive 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory in a tense 3-hour, 37-minute match at Rod Laver Arena, Djokovic revealed his injury during an on-court interview. He remained tight-lipped about his concerns, but later sparked injury fears. He will recover in time for the semifinals on Friday.
The 37-year-old left the court trailing 4-5 in the first set and struggled for much of the second set, showing discomfort moving around the court. But he raised his level late in the second set and outscored Alcaraz in the next two sets, taking two more painkillers and winning.
“Well, obviously I don’t want to reveal too much because I’m still in the tournament,” Djokovic began. “But yeah, the medication started working and it definitely helped. I had to take another dose. This sucks! I took another dose. But yeah I had to.”
“Honestly, after losing the second set, I didn’t know if I was going to keep playing or not. But I felt better and better and I was able to play a great few games and finish the second set.”
The Serbian also admitted that while the painkillers worked their magic, seeing Alcaraz become more cautious in his baseline interactions encouraged him to step up.
“And I saw Carlos hesitating a little bit from the back of the court, so I took a chance and started feeling better and moving better. So it didn’t bother me, it was It didn’t cause any problems,” he added. If there was any interference late in the match, it was only in the second set. ”
However, he added that he may not be ready yet to see if he has recovered in time to fight Zverev. “Of course, we’ll see tomorrow morning what the reality is once the medicine starts working, but for now I’m just going to enjoy the moment and enjoy this victory,” Djokovic said.
Djokovic has an impressive 8-4 record against Germans in ATP tournaments, including a 3-0 lead in Grand Slam tournaments.
