LONDON (AP) — Novak Djokovic canceled his afternoon practice session at Wimbledon on Thursday, a day after the seven-time champion had a “nasty” fall moments before clinching his quarterfinal victory.
The 38-year-old Djokovic, who faces No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals on Friday, slid and fell on his second match point against No. 22 seed Flavio Cobolli. He then won the next two points to advance.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion’s practice session at Wimbledon’s Aorangi Park had been scheduled for 1-3 p.m. The All England Club confirmed that the session was canceled.
Djokovic had the option to reschedule practice time later, but hadn’t for indoor or outdoor courts as of early evening.
Sinner had similarly canceled his own practice session a day after hurting his right elbow during his fourth-round victory over Grigor Dimitrov, though he did hit some balls in a 20-minute session at an indoor court later. Then he went out and beat No. 10 Ben Shelton in straight sets on Wednesday.
Djokovic described his tumble as “a nasty fall. It was very awkward.”
“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,” he said at Wednesday’s news conference. “So let’s see. I’m hoping the next 24, 48 hours that the severity of what was happening on the court and what happened is not too bad, that I’ll be able to play at my best and free of pain in two days.”
Djokovic has dealt with other injuries in recent years. He withdrew before the quarterfinals of the 2024 French Open because of a knee injury that required surgery.
Djokovic also stopped during his semifinal match at the Australian Open this January because of a torn hamstring muscle.
The Serbian was runner-up the past two years at Wimbledon, losing both times to Carlos Alcaraz. Before that, he had won four consecutive titles at the All England Club. He won his first Wimbledon title in 2011.
Djokovic has stopped playing on two occasions at Wimbledon: in 2017 during a quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych because of an elbow injury; and in 2007 during a semifinal match against Rafael Nadal because of a foot problem.
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