Novak Djokovic sent an almighty scare through the tennis community when he was forced to take a medical time-out to deal with a hamstring complaint in the first set of his Adelaide International semi-final against Daniil Medvedev.
Leading 4-2 and on serve, Djokovic was forced to stretch for a shot but immediately felt his hamstring afterwards and gingerly walked it off between points.
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The Serbian superstar played through the pain and at one stage won a sensational 21-shot rally, but he continually clutched his upper left leg after each point.
Djokovic eventually held serve to take a 5-2 lead, but called for a medical time-out and headed straight to the locker room.
The 35-year-old was absent from the court for approximately 10 minutes as he continued to receive treatment, while Medvedev was left sitting in his courtside chair waiting for his rival to return.
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Djokovic eventually made his way back onto the court in Adelaide, but conceded the first game back after the restart as Medvedev held serve to make the score 5-3.
However, there was little the Russian star could do to stop Djokovic from holding serve in the next game as he took the first set 6-3.
The 21-time grand slam winner will be hoping his hamstring issue was only just a scare and nothing more as he continues preparations for the Australian Open.
It is a tournament in which Djokovic’s chances of winning were boosted significantly with the unfortunate news that World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz was forced to withdraw due to an injury.
The Spaniard suffered an injury to his “semimembranosus muscle” in his right leg, extending his absence from the court that goes back to October.
Djokovic will return to Melbourne Park having missed last year’s iteration of the Australian Open after he was deported in January last year due to his vaccination status.
It broke the Serbian’s streak of three consecutive Australian Open titles.