Djokovic facing new layoff from injury
Novak Djokovic, the six-time winner of the Australian Open, admitted that he had no idea when he would play again after being eliminated from this year’s tournament by world No 58 Hyeon Chung.
Djokovic took a medical timeout in the first set to have treatment on his troublesome right elbow.
The Serb was able to compete wholeheartedly during this 3hr 21min war of attrition, but in the interview room he confirmed that the injury remained a serious issue despite the five-month break he took after last year’s Wimbledon.
‘‘It’s frustrating, of course, when you have that much time and you don’t heal properly,’’ said Djokovic.
‘‘But it is what it is. There is some kind of a reason behind all of this. I’m just trying my best, obviously, because I love this sport.
‘‘I enjoy training [and] hoping that I can get better, perform and compete. Today was one of those days where, unfortunately, it was too much to deal with.’’
Djokovic’s usually fierce serve was most obviously affected. He hit only two aces, while his regular double-faults helped Chung race to a 4-0 first-set lead.
Djokovic said that the level of pain was not high enough to make him consider retirement, and that he was hoping to extend the contest into a fourth set to test the South Korean’s inexperience in lengthy matches.
But Chung hung tough during the pressure moments of his 7-6, 7-5, 7-6 victory, and has earned a very winnable quarterfinal against Tennys Sandgren, probably the most unlikely player to reach the last eight of a slam in 15 years.
Djokovic, when asked whether he needed another long break to give the elbow time to heal, replied. ‘‘I really don’t know. I have to reassess everything with my medical team, coaches and everybody. Scan it, see what the situation is like. Last couple weeks I played a lot of tennis. Let’s see what’s happening inside.’’
Despite his physical handicap, Djokovic was still operating at a high level, and this win was no freebie for Chung, the 21-year-old who won last year’s ATP NextGen Finals in Milan.
To cross the line, he needed not only freakish mobility and endurance but a cool head in the closing stages.
Remarkably, this was the first straight-sets defeat that Djokovic had suffered at the Australian Open since way back in 2007, when he was 19 and lost to Roger Federer in the fourth round.
Chung plays a similar form of tennis to Djokovic – relentless weight and accuracy from the back of the court, combined with a physical flexibility that helps him chip the ball back from the most desperate positions.
‘‘It’s a dream come true,’’ said Chung, who failed to win a set when he played Djokovic here in the first round two years ago. ‘‘When I was young, I was just trying to copy Novak because he is my idol. I’m just honoured to play him again.’’
Even Djokovic had to admit that he was beaten at his own game. ‘‘You know, we do play very similar. He definitely has the game to be a top-10 player, without a doubt. How far he can go, that depends on him. Obviously, I respect him a lot because he’s a hard worker, he’s disciplined, he’s a nice guy, he’s quiet. You can see that he cares about his career and his performances. So, I’m sure that he’s going to get some really good results in the future.’’
In the other matches on Monday, Roger Federer continued his run of straight-sets wins as he disposed of Marton Fucsovics 6-4, 7-6, 6-2. He will face Tomas Berdych in his quarterfinal today, a repeat of the third-round meeting last year that saw Federer rediscover his best form after a sixmonth layoff.
Earlier, Tennessee-born, tennisloving Sandgren caused one of the biggest upsets at the Open, knocking out fifth-seeded Dominic Thiem to advance to the quarterfinals.
Previously winless at grand slams, the aptly-named American continued his astonishing run at Melbourne Park with a 6-2 4-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-7 (7-9) 6-3 victory in three hours and 54 minutes.
His reward will be a final-eight showdown with Chung.
‘‘I don’t know if this is a dream or not,’’ Sandgren said. ‘‘All of you guys are here and I’m not in my underwear, so maybe it’s not a dream.
‘‘This is my fifth Australian Open; I’ve lost in (qualifiers) four years. This is my first main draw at the Australian Open and now I’m in the quarterfinals.’’
Sandgren has now seen off two of the top men’s seeds, having defeated an injury-hampered Stan Wawrinka in the second round.
He is just the second man in 20 years to make the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in his first main-draw appearance.
Meanwhile, Elise Mertens says she’s trying to follow in the footsteps of former Belgian champion Kim Clijsters after making her first grand slam semifinal.
The unseeded 22-year-old, playing for the first time at the Australian Open, took a giant step by shocking world No 4 Elina Svitolina 6-4 6-0 on Rod Laver Arena yesterday.
Svitolina was a pre-tournament title favourite and in line to take over the world No 1 ranking with success at Melbourne Park.
Mertens trains at the Kim Clijsters Academy in Belgium, with the four-time grand slam champion — including the Open title in 2011 — regularly in contact.
‘‘I’m trying to follow in your footsteps this week,’’ Mertens said when asked post-match if she had a message for Clijsters.
She will take on Danish second seed Caroline Wozniacki or Spanish veteran Carla Suarez Navarro in tomorrow’s semifinals.