'Knew right away something not so great was happening': Novak Djokovic's Australian Open in doubt

Novak Djokovic, who is also the defending champion, however, remains hopeful about his participation in the fourth-round clash against Milos Raonic. The world no. one sustained a torn stomach muscle during his match against Taylor Fritz.

World no. one tennis player Novak Djokovic (Twitter/australianopen)

Novak Djokovic's further participation in the ongoing Australian Open looks in dark clouds, with the world no. one himself admitting that he is unsure about taking part in the next round. The development comes after Djokovic's epic five-set clash against Taylor Fritz on Friday, which the Serb won 7-6 (7-1) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2.  

Djokovic, who is also the defending champion, however, remains hopeful about his participation in the fourth-round clash against Milos Raonic. The world no. one sustained a torn stomach muscle during his match against Fritz, which almost brought an end to his campaign at the Australian Open.  

#AusOpen | #AO2021 pic.twitter.com/VfU5yYm1fK — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 12, 2021

"I know it's a tear, I don't know if I'll be able to recover from that in two days," Djokovic said after his titanic battle with Fritz, which ended in the early hours of Saturday morning.

"I don't know if I'll be able to step out on court, I don't know. I honestly don't know how I won that match. I'm very proud and at the same time sad and worried.  I was hopeful whatever was happening there was going to feel better, and toward the end of the fourth it started to get better. I couldn't do much on the return I was just going for my shots and it managed to work."

"This is definitely one of the more specials wins in my life."@DjokerNole | #AO2021 | #AusOpen pic.twitter.com/2Cx2b49RdU — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) February 12, 2021

The eight-time Australian Open champion also admitted he almost quit the match midway against Fritz, giving a hint of his distress when he called for the trainer while in agony in the third set.

"I knew right away that something not so great was happening," he said.

"I don't want to talk about the intensity or the level of injury and pain; it's not going to matter much because people don't understand what you go through on the court," he said.

"But the way it felt definitely at the beginning of that third set when I got my first medical time-out, I was debating really strongly in my head to retire because I couldn't move, I couldn't rotate, I couldn't return. The only thing I could do is serve - and that's what got me out of the trouble." 

Meanwhile, the Serb on Saturday also skipped the practice and as per media reports Djokovic will undergo scans before a decision on his title defence will be taken.