No Thursday practice for Novak Djokovic as he manages thigh injury

Novak Djokovic skipped practice at Melbourne Park for the second day in a row ahead of his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev on Friday.

The Serbian admitted he was concerned about his physical condition after sustaining a left thigh injury during his quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz.

It was no surprise that Djokovic did not practise on site on Wednesday but, having been on the schedule on Thursday, his session was then removed.

He is due to hit on Friday lunchtime in preparation for the semi-final but it remains to be seen to what extent he will have been able to recover for his second clash in a row against a top-three opponent.

Speaking after beating Alcaraz, Djokovic said: “It’s definitely going to be challenging from every aspect. I’m playing Zverev, who is in great form, and he is going for his first grand slam.

“I think he loves the conditions. He’s got a big serve. He’s a super dangerous opponent on this surface against anyone. The extra day with no match comes at a good time.

“I hope to be able physically to be moving freely and to be able to be ready to play five sets.”

Djokovic is no stranger to battling through the draw in Melbourne while carrying an injury having defied an abdominal strain in 2021 and a hamstring injury two years ago.

The victory over Alcaraz was a feather in the cap for Andy Murray in his fledgling coaching career, with Djokovic heading straight to the coaching box to give his old rival a hug.

Ahead of the match, Djokovic warmed up with Britain’s Jacob Fearnley, who has stayed in Melbourne to prepare for the Davis Cup trip to Japan.

“It was a little bit of a surreal moment,” said the 23-year-old, who took a set off Djokovic in the second round of Wimbledon last summer.

“It’s amazing to get those opportunities. I was obviously a little bit nervous, especially before a match, because you want to make it as good as possible. I knew he was playing a really big match.

“I was pleased when he won, when he started hitting the ball really nice. I was like, ‘Yeah, that was a nice warm-up’.”

Fearnley is not surprised to see his fellow Scot settling quickly into life on the other side, saying: “When he’s on the court with Novak, he’s extremely focused and locked in, so he doesn’t really have time to talk to me too much.

“I think we all knew he was going to be an extremely good coach. The way he saw the game when he was a player, it was always going to translate to being an amazing coach, for sure.”

Djokovic has only lost one of his previous 11 Australian Open semi-finals, against Jannik Sinner last year, having gone on to win the title on every previous occasion.

This will be a third semi-final here for Zverev, who has made two grand slam finals, at the US Open in 2020 and the French Open last year, and is arguably top of the list of best players never to win a major.

The other semi-final will pit defending champion Sinner, who is on a 19-match winning streak on hard courts at slams, against young American Ben Shelton.

The 22-year-old made his breakthrough here two years ago with a run to the last eight on his debut before going on to make the semi-finals of the US Open.

Shelton possesses a huge serve and forehand but he has been proud of his consistency here, saying: “Your base game has to be good enough that you can win at 70 per cent or 80 per cent.

“You don’t have to use everything in your arsenal and play perfect tennis to be winning out here. I think that that’s really, really important for me.

“A year ago, if I had a bad serving day, it was an L. For me, that’s the growth. I’ve been working every single day to become a more well-rounded player. If you only have one thing to rely on, the gun misfires or the chamber is empty, you’re in trouble.”