London: The 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic faced an injury scare during the Wimbledon quarterfinal against Flavio Cobolli as the Serbian slipped on the grass and fell into a painful-looking split in the fourth set.
On the verge of defeating Cobolli on Wednesday night, the Serbian made a quick effort to change direction but had a ‘nasty fall’ on the grass at 5-4, 40/30 in the fourth set. Djokovic stayed down for a moment as the chair umpire rushed to check on him, as did Cobolli.
He then returned to his feet and stretched out his left leg to a wave of applause. Despite the nervy ending, Djokovic needed just two more points to close the match, securing a 6-7(6), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4 victory. ATP reports.
Djokovic showed no obvious signs of injury throughout the final two points of the match. The 38-year-old remains optimistic that will hold true ahead of his semifinal clash against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
“It was a nasty fall. It was very awkward. That happens on grass. I’ve had quite a few of those throughout my grass-court career,” Djokovic said in his post-match press conference.
“Obviously, my body is not the same today like it was before, so I guess the real impact or effect of what happened I will feel tomorrow. So let’s see. I’m hoping the next 24, 48 hours, the severity of what happened is not too bad, that I’ll be able to play at my best and free of pain in two days,” Djokovic said.
With his 102nd Wimbledon win, Djokovic improved to 26-8 on the season and moved to within two victories of a record-extending 25th major. If the 38-year-old clinches the title, he will equal Federer’s record of eight crowns at the grass-court major.
Should Djokovic win the title, he would also become the oldest champion in the tournament’s Open Era history, surpassing Federer’s record set in 2017 when he triumphed aged 35.
“I’m very satisfied as a 38-year-old to be able to move the way I’m moving right now and playing. I have about 10 people in my team working daily on every single aspect of my on-court, off-court career and preparation and recovery.
“Sometimes I get tired of all the chores that I have to do on a daily basis to get my body ready to be able to perform. It’s a lot of hours, a lot of hours spent off the court, in the gym, or on the table just trying to work with what I have,” said Djokovic.
(IANS)
