Due to a distressing shoulder injury, Novak Djokovic had to abruptly end his stay at the US open while playing the fourth round against the Swiss player, Stan Wawrinka, who was leading 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 when Novak decided not to continue as he was experiencing pain in his left shoulder.
He hugged Wawrinka before audiences expressed their disapproval as he left and headed towards the locker room. Djokovic retorted with a thumbs-up.
Djokovic commented, “I’m sorry for the crowd. They came to see a full match, and just wasn’t to be. A lot of people didn’t know what’s happening, so you cannot blame them.”
Djokovic reacted he had been “taking different stuff to kill the pain instantly.”
“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t,” said Djokovic. “The pain was constant for weeks now.”
The World No. 1 tennis player was a winner of 36 out of 37 main matches. He had also acquired four out of the five major titles in one of the leading stretches tennis has witnessed.
He had started complaining about his shoulder pain from last week during a second-round win while undergoing massage at the time of changeovers.
After a successful third-round win, Djokovic stated that he was pain-free. However, he refrained from sharing any details about his treatment and injury. After the match was over, Wawrinka immediately commented, “It’s never the way you want to finish the match. I am really sorry for Novak. He’s a good friend, he’s an amazing champion.”
