Novak Djokovic raised new injury concerns when he called the physio deep into the second set of his Shanghai Masters semi-final.
The world No. 4 started to stretch his hip and glutes out as the match went on. And he received a medical time-out to treat the area while trailing 5-6 on serve in the second set
Djokovic had been in blistering form when he took the opener 6-4 against Taylor Fritz.
But the second set became more of a battle. Fritz saved three break points in the fifth game as Djokovic continued to reel off winners like a human highlight reel.
It was Djokovic’s turn to save break points but he held to lead 4-4 as the physical issues crept in. The 37-year-old repeatedly turned around to grab at his hip and stretch out his glutes.
After Fritz held to lead 6-5, the Serb called the physio and received a three-minute medical time-out. He quickly got on the floor to allow the trainer to work on the area while the world No. 7 waited to continue the match.
Djokovic struggled when they initially resumed play, losing the first two points and risking losing the second set altogether.
But he found some big serves when it mattered and forced a tiebreak. The four-time former champion saved a set point to get the job done, winning 6-4 7-6(6). But there will be concerns about his body when he faces Jannik Sinner in the final.
It’s not the first time Djokovic has felt discomfort during his matches this week. While facing Jakub Mensik in Friday’s quarter-final, the No. 4 seed started to grab his left leg.
He already has pre-existing issues with his right knee after injuring it at the French Open and eventually pulling out of the tournament. Djokovic underwent meniscus surgery after his withdrawal and was back just a few weeks later at Wimbledon, reaching the final.
He has worn a knee brace while competing ever since going under the knife, and has still had the grey strapping on his leg during the Shanghai Masters.
After beating Mensik on Friday, Djokovic addressed concerns about his left knee. “I mean, it’s a strange feeling, to be honest, those couple of points in that game, but after that it was fine,” he explained.
“So, hopefully when it cools down I’m not going to have any troubles with it, because I already have troubles with the right knee, so it wouldn’t be great. Yeah, let’s see what tomorrow brings.”
But the issue seemed to travel further up his leg on Saturday. Addressing his latest concern after beating Fritz, the fourth seed said: “It always takes it out of me this kind of battles, particularly towards the end of the tournament. At this stage of my career, I’m doing my best to recover. I had some issues here and there on the court physically a little bit yesterday and today. But managed to overcome it.
“It was a stern test. Taylor is in form, playing possibly the tennis of his life, coming off of a Grand Slam final and he’s playing really well, particularly on this surface, he’s serving really big. So I knew it was going to be a big test for me so I did not want to get to a third set and just glad to overcome in two.
