Novak Djokovic refused to reveal specifics about the mystery leg injury that he hopes will not stop him from winning a record-extending 11th Australian Open title.
The 24-time grand slam champion and former world No.1 produced another Melbourne Park masterclass on Tuesday night, outlasting Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 in a captivating contest across three hours and 37 minutes.
Novak Djokovic talks to a physiotherapist during his match with Carlos Alcaraz.Credit: Getty Images
Djokovic has two days off before facing German second seed Alex Zverev in the semi-finals on Friday.
He looked in trouble when he took an off-court medical timeout after appearing to hurt himself during the ninth game, but battled on and thrived the longer the match went.
Djokovic said the injury was “very similar” to the one he had two years ago, which was a three-centimetre tear in his right hamstring, but stopped short of confirming that it was his hamstring again.
“I’m not going to go into details, but it’s very similar to what I had a few years ago – 2023, to be exact. I haven’t done any tests [yet], obviously,” Djokovic said.
“I mean, I’ve done tests with the physio when they took me off the court, when I had the medical timeout. He strapped me, [and] then the doctor gave me some medication, [and] so forth – some painkillers.
“That kicked in after 20, 30 minutes. It did help, [and] then I had to take another dose, I think, in the beginning of the fourth [set].
“Now that it’s cooling off, I can start to feel different things. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow and day by day [after that].”
This is just the latest Australian Open injury drama for Djokovic, who had an abdominal tear in 2021, the aforementioned hamstring tear in 2023, and then a wrist issue going into last year’s tournament.
He also underwent elbow surgery after his 2018 Open loss.
Djokovic looked compromised for much of the second set and appeared more conservative with his movement, including rarely even attempting to chase down Alcaraz’s regular drop shots.
He said in the aftermath that he may not have continued the match if he had lost the second set.
However, Djokovic, after handing back an early break, levelled the match with a sparkling backhand down-the-line return winner to break his Spanish rival to love. From there, he took control of the match.
Djokovic winces after hurting his leg.Credit: AP
The 37-year-old said he noticed improvement at the end of the second set, then felt “pretty much normal” the entire third and until midway through the fourth set.
“[The] end of the fourth was a little bit worse, but still OK,” Djokovic said.
“Look, I feel for [Alcaraz]. I understand that it’s not comfortable to play someone who you don’t know if he’s going to retire or not. Is he moving? Is he running? What’s happening? I felt that he was looking at me more than he was looking at himself.
“It kind of reminded me of 2023, really, when this happened … I don’t know what’s going to happen in the next few days, but I’m hoping for the best.”
Alcaraz, who struck 50 winners to Djokovic’s 31 but also many more errors, struggled tactically with the situation.
That “hesitation” in the 21-year-old’s play, as Djokovic put it, played into the super Serb’s hands, which Alcaraz rued afterwards.
“I think everybody saw in the second set he’s struggling a little bit to move,” Alcaraz said.
“I don’t know if it was more running to the forehand or running to the backhand, but obviously he was struggling.
“Then, [in] the third and fourth sets, I didn’t see anything bad from him.
“I’m not saying he made a show. I’m just saying that … it’s obvious, and everybody saw it, that he’s struggling in the second set.”
Djokovic, who likened the match atmosphere on Tuesday night to a grand slam final, said he was unlikely to hit on Wednesday as his team monitors the injury.
Djokovic’s fans were a constant source of support throughout his quarter-final clash.Credit: Penny Stephens
“The extra day with no match comes at a good time. I have to assess the situation tomorrow when I wake up,” he said.
“I will try to do as much as I possibly can with my recovery team, with my physio today, tomorrow, [and] the next few days. I’ll probably skip training tomorrow. I’ll see if I’m going to train in two days or not.
“I’m concerned. I am, to be honest, physically. But if I manage somehow to be physically good enough, I think mentally, emotionally, I’m as motivated as I can be.”
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