Carlos Alcaraz thrown by Novak Djokovic mid-match injury in Australian Open quarterfinal

In the Australian Open quarterfinals, Novak Djokovic appeared to be in trouble after losing the first set to Carlos Alcaraz, shaking his head towards his box. He seemed to have injured his upper thigh, severely limiting his movement, while Alcaraz was riding high on confidence.

However, as the match progressed, Djokovic's injury became more of a problem for the young Spaniard, who didn't know how to react. Alcaraz's rhythm was disrupted, especially after the Serbian left the court for a medical timeout, had his left thigh bandaged, took some painkillers, and then returned firing on all cylinders. This timeout wasted Alcaraz's momentum, similar to what Holger Rune experienced the day before in his fourth-round match against world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.

The 21-year-old, four-time major champion said that after winning the first set 6-4, he felt in control of the match. But after the timeout, he began to hesitate on his shots, becoming more tentative than usual, which allowed Djokovic to get back into the match. Seven-time major singles champion and current commentator John McEnroe said on ESPN: "This is not the first time we've seen this routine from Djokovic, don't be fooled." When his commentator partner and brother, Patrick McEnroe, asked him "Did you expect that?" John replied, "Yes."

When asked if he noticed Alcaraz losing focus after the injury, Djokovic said, "I did notice it." He also said, "Look, I feel for him. I understand that it's not comfortable playing with uncertainty about whether your opponent will retire. Is he moving? Is he running? What's going on? I think he was looking at me more than he was looking at himself." Djokovic, still in the competition, didn't want to reveal too much but said it was very similar to his hamstring problem in 2023 (described as a three-centimeter tear), which limited his movement.

Djokovic said on the court after the match that if he had lost the second set, he would have considered retiring, but after the timeout, the momentum started to shift in his favor. Everyone knew this, especially Alcaraz. "I think everyone saw that he was struggling a little bit to move in the second set. I don't know if it was running to the forehand or running to the backhand, but it was clear that he was struggling. And then in the third and fourth sets, I didn't see him have any bad moments," Alcaraz said. "So I'm not saying he was acting. I'm just saying, I don't know. It was clear for everyone that he was struggling in the second set. And then in the third and fourth sets, he was playing great."

With his experience, Djokovic capitalized on this and tried to exploit Alcaraz's hesitation, especially in longer rallies. "He tried to play a lot of drop shots at some points, to make me run," Djokovic said. "I've also been in situations where my opponents have been injured but kept playing. The opponent would go all out and then stay in the match. And then as the match goes on, the opponent feels better. You start to panic a little about your own game."

"From his perspective, it wasn't the worst timing." Similarly, the day before, 13th seed Rune looked close to an upset victory over world No. 1 Sinner when the Italian showed clear signs of physical discomfort on the court. Sinner was seen shivering during changeovers and said after the match that he sometimes felt dizzy. He eventually called a medical timeout in the third set and was taken off the court for nearly 12 minutes for a doctor's assessment.

Meanwhile, Rune was forced to wait on Rod Laver Arena, where the temperature reached 33 degrees Celsius that day. The Dane had just won the second set 6-3 and felt like he had the momentum, but was disrupted by the long break. "Obviously, it's completely okay to check it out. It was hot that day, although not always sunny. It was humid, so I felt it too," Rune said. "It's fair that he got checked. I think it was longer than I expected. About 10 minutes, or even longer. So it's a little bit brutal in the middle of the match... I just couldn't continue. I was on a good run." "From his perspective, it wasn't the worst timing."