Djokovic not sure if he can keep playing at Australian Open
Novak Djokovic said he tore a muscle during a fall in his fiveset victory in the Australian Open's third round and might need to pull out of the tournament.
His opponent, American Taylor Fritz, wasn't so sure. He figured Djokovic definitely will be back out there Sunday to continue his pursuit of a ninth championship at Melbourne Park and 18th Grand Slam title overall.
"If he can play like he played in the fifth, I don't see why he wouldn't play," Fritz said. "He'll beat pretty much anyone."
The No. 1-ranked Djokovic seemed to be cruising along with a two-set lead Friday night when his left foot gave out from under him as he tried to change directions and he slipped awkwardly on the white "MELBOURNE" lettering at the back of the blue court. He took a medical timeout for treatment on his side and later was helped more by a trainer. Fritz got back into the match, before Djokovic eventually won 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 62.
When it ended, Djokovic puffed his chest, held his arms out wide and bellowed, his voice echoing through an empty and otherwise silent Rod Laver Arena. The match began with spectators present, but they were forced to leave a little past 11:30 p.m. — about an hour before Djokovic wrapped up his win — because a local COVID-19 lockdown began at midnight.
During an on-court interview, he was subdued.
And pessimistic.
"I know it's a tear, definitely, of the muscle. So I don't know if I'll manage to recover from that in less than two days. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if I'm going to step out onto the court or not," said Djokovic, who is supposed to face 2016 Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic with a quarterfinal berth on the line.
"I am just very proud of this achievement tonight," Djokovic said. "Let's see what happens tomorrow."
Play was halted for about 10 minutes while the crowd was cleared out, which bothered
Fritz.
"I mean, to be honest — like, completely honest — it's absolutely ridiculous that at a Grand Slam match, we're asked to leave the court for 10 minutes in the middle of the match," said Fritz, a 23-year-old from California who was seeded 27th. "That shouldn't be a thing at a Grand Slam. ... We shouldn't have played tonight if we weren't going to finish the match on time."
No fans will be allowed at the tournament for at least five days.
"In a way, it's unfortunate for the crowd that we didn't finish the match with them seeing the end. They were enjoying it, certainly," said Djokovic, the champion in Australia each of the past two years. "On the other hand, you know, for me regardless of the crowd in the stands or not, I was just trying to focus on what's going on with an injury and just praying and hoping that somehow it would get better."
After his movement and usually strong returns were clearly hampered in the third and fourth sets, Djokovic began to assert himself more in the fifth.
Things swung suddenly back in his favor with a break to 4-2.
"Looked like he was struggling in the third and the fourth, and he didn't really look like he was struggling in the fifth," Fritz said. "He looked fine in the fifth. Let's be honest."
This setback dropped Fritz's career record in third-round matches at Grand Slam tournaments to 0-6.
"I make (the) third round literally every single Slam. I just want to make it to the fourth round," Fritz said. "Like, it's so tough. I fought so hard and wanted it so bad, and it's just really tough to go out like that."
A year ago, Williams dropped just three games against Potapova in the first round. But then the American was surprised in the third round, her earliest exit in Australia in 14 years.
This time at that stage, Williams — who has won seven of her 23 Grand Slam singles titles in Australia — fell behind in the opening set, which Potapova served for at 5-3. But the 2016
Wimbledon junior champion double-faulted five times in that game, including twice on set point.
Williams then trailed 5-3 in the tiebreaker. But she took the next four points, the last on a 21stroke exchange that ended with Potapova putting a forehand into the net.
Never more so than shortly after Potapova edged ahead again by breaking to begin the second set.
Williams broke right back with the help of a remarkable get on a lob. After somehow putting her racket on the ball and sending it in the right direction, the 39year-old paused and smiled, assuming the point was over — and then laughed upon realizing she won the point, because Potapova responded by putting an overhead into the net.
"I mean, that was a great point. Very beautiful," Potapova said with a smile in a video interview with The Associated Press. "That's what she does. That's what makes her be great."
Williams now plays seventhseeded Aryna Sabalenka, who matched her best Grand Slam showing by reaching the fourth round with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Ann Li.
Other women's fourth-round matchups established Friday: three-time Grand Slam title winner Naomi Osaka against twotime major champion Garbiñe Muguruza, 2019 French Open finalist Marketa Vondrousova against Hsieh Su-wei, and twotime major champ Simona Halep against reigning French Open champion Iga Swiatek.
No. 8 Diego Schwartzman became the highest-seeded man to lose so far, eliminated 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 by Aslan Karatsev, a qualifier from Russia ranked 114th and making his Grand Slam debut at age 27.
No. 3 Dominic Thiem, who won the U.S. Open in September, appeared to be in real trouble against Australia's Nick Kyrgios in front of a raucous crowd, but came all the way back from a two-set deficit to win 4-6, 4-6, 63, 6-4, 6-4. Thiem's fourthround opponent is No. 18 Grigor Dimitrov, who advanced when Pablo Carreno Busta retired after losing the first seven games.
Karatsev is the first qualifier to reach the fourth round at Melbourne Park since Milos Raonic a decade ago and will meet No. 20 Felix Auger-Aliassime, who defeated No. 11 Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 7-5, 6-3 in an all-Canadian matchup.
In other action, 2020 U.S. Open runner-up Alexander Zverev won in straight sets and now takes on No. 23 Dusan Lajovic.