Novak Djokovic climbs over Wimbledon net to help Jannik Sinner after injury scare
JANNIK SINNER appeared to twist his ankle towards the end of the fourth set.
Highlights from day eight of Wimbledon
Novak Djokovic immediately rushed to Jannik Sinner's aid after the Italian took a nasty tumble during their epic Wimbledon quarter-final battle on Tuesday. The No 10 seed looked set to pull off one of the biggest upsets of the tournament when he deservedly took a two-set lead.
But Djokovic, who has been in this position many times before in a Grand Slam and won, kept his cool and soon began taking his chances to get back in the match. It wasn't long until Djokovic took the third and set and had a double break in the fourth with a deciding set looking likely.
Sinner was doing everything to avoid that possibility towards the end of the fourth, scampering around the court with the pair embroiled in some epic rallies. The Italian had a chance to break at 2-5 down in the fourth when Djokovic placed a spinning drop shot in the middle of the court.
Sinner raced to try and get the ball back over the net, but ended up tripping over his feet as Djokovic saved the break point. To make matters worse, the 20-year-old slipped on the surface as he tried to plant his feet.
Sinner took a tumble to the floor and appeared in serious pain as he clutched at his leg. There was serious concern from the Centre Court crowd and a medic rushed to the stricken tennis star.
Djokovic also expressed concern as he climbed over the net to try and help his opponent. The injury didn't seem to be as bad as first feared though as Djokovic quickly helped Sinner onto his feet.
And Sinner appeared to refuse medical attention as he gingerly walked back to his side of the court to recompose himself. The match soon continued and Djokovic did enough to hold serve and win the set.
Djokovic has lost the first two sets at Wimbledon on nine different occasions, according to data provided by IBM. And, prior to the match against Sinner, Djokovic had won on just two occasions.
His first came in 2005 at the second-round stage when he came from behind to beat Guillermo Garcia Lopez. Djokovic then repeated the feat in 2015 when he defeated Kevin Anderson in the round-of-16.
Last year, Djokovic also came from two sets down twice on his way to an epic title at the French Open.