Defending champion Novak Djokovic faces a fitness battle to continue in the Australian Open after suffering what he described as a "muscle tear" during a five-set win over Taylor Fritz on Friday.
The 33-year-old, seeking a record-extending ninth title in Melbourne, was cruising after winning the opening two sets of his third-round clash but a slip at 1-1 in the third set almost derailed his progress.
Djokovic disappeared off Rod Laver Arena for treatment and needed further attention during the third set.
His hopes looked to be dashed when Fritz won sets three and four but the 17-time Grand Slam winner showed great resolve to dominate the decider with some superbly accurate serving and groundstrokes.
His 7-6, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 win was his 78th career match victory at the Australian Open but whether he will be able to go for No 79 against Milos Raonic on Sunday remains to be seen.
"Right now, I'm ... well, I know it's a tear, definitely, of the muscle," Djokovic said about the issue affecting his right side, which he stated had initially left him unable to move or rotate.
"So, I don't know if I'll manage to recover from that in less than two days. I don't know if I'm going to step out on to the court or not. I am just very proud of this achievement tonight. Let's see what happens."
Djokovic was helped by a break in play midway through the fourth set at around 11.30pm local time, when the fans inside the Rod Laver Arena were told to leave to comply with Melbourne's new five-day Covid-19 lockdown, which was due to start at midnight.
Although he still lost the fourth set, he was able to move more freely in the fifth, in which he dropped only five points on his serve and struck 13 winners.
Djokovic had been riled by the boisterous crowd earlier in the match but after a short break in play to allow disgruntled fans to head for the exits, he revelled in the calm atmosphere.
"I was just going for my shots. I was hitting two first serves and it worked," he said.
"Obviously, with the bad news that we got today, everybody knew that midnight is going to be the deadline. In a way, it's unfortunate for the crowd that we didn't finish the match, with them seeing the end. They were enjoying it, certainly.
"Maybe a bit too loud at certain moments."
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Analysis
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MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
