Djokovic ‘concerned’ about leg injury ahead of Zverev semi-final

Barely an hour had passed after Novak Djokovic’s scintillating four-set win against Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open on Tuesday and the Serbian’s mind was already turning to a race against the clock.

Djokovic received medical treatment off the court late in the first set of his quarter-final clash against his great rival Alcaraz and he returned with strapping on his upper left leg. The issue did not stop him from raising his level for a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 victory inside Rod Laver Arena, but the record 10-time champion in Melbourne acknowledged he was unsure about how his body will recover ahead of Thursday’s semi-final meeting with Alexander Zverev.

“The extra day with no match comes at a good time,” said Djokovic. “I have to assess the situation tomorrow when I wake up. I will try to do as much as I possibly can with my recovery team, with my physio today, tomorrow, the next few days. Probably skip training tomorrow. I'll see if I'm going to train in two days or not.

“I'll take it day by day. Now it's really about recovery. 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.”

Djokovic did not want to go into specifics on the nature of his injury, but he did reveal his belief that it was not a completely new one for him. He famously won the 2023 Australian Open while managing an injury in the same area.

“It's very similar to what I had few years ago. 2023, to be exact,” said the 37-year-old. “I haven't done any tests obviously, [other than] 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, some painkillers. That kicked in after 20, 30 minutes. It did help.

“Then I had to take another dose I think in the beginning of the fourth. Now that it's cooling off, I can start to feel different things. Let's see how it goes tomorrow and day by day.”

Djokovic’s concern about his injury could not cloud his delight at extending his Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Alcaraz to 5-3. In a battle of former No. 1s in the PIF ATP Rankings, Djokovic delivered a supreme display of ballstriking across the second, third and fourth sets to maintain his unbeaten record on hard courts against the Spaniard.

“Best match of the tournament for me and possibly one of the best matches that was played on the men's side,” reflected Djokovic. “Just super proud to push this one through in four sets. Carlos brings so much energy and intensity on the court. He always demands the best of his opponent in order to have a chance to win against him. I knew that coming into the match.

“I thought I started off very well. It was quite an even match. Then the accident happened physically with me in the end of the first. I lost the first set. Came back. Somehow managed to win the second. I started to feel better I guess towards the end of the second, beginning of the third. I started to move better.

"Every set was super close. The crowd was into it. So much energy on the court. It was amazing. It felt like it was finals of a slam, to be honest. I wish it was. Credit to him for fighting. I think we both gave all on the court tonight. Hopefully people saw that.”

Djokovic now prepares to face Zverev, against whom he holds an 8-4 Lexus ATP Head2Head record. He will look to his coach Andy Murray, who himself won three of his four tour-level meetings with Zverev, to help establish a gameplan for nullifying the German’s big serve. Djokovic headed straight to his player box to embrace Murray after beating Alcaraz, and he later explained he felt it represented a key moment in their player-coach relationship.

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“I felt to do it in the end of the match. I feel more and more connected with Andy every day,” said the Serbian. “We face challenges every single day. People don't see that obviously. We try to make the most out of every day and grow together. He's been as committed to my career and this tournament as he can be.

“It was kind of a gesture of appreciation, respect for him, and the fact that he's out there, and he doesn't need to be. He accepted to work with me. He's giving all his support to me, to the whole team, and trying to make it work.

“This was a huge win for all of us, including Andy and myself, for the relationship. That's why I went to him, because I just felt very grateful that he's there.”