Novak Djokovic leaves court with physio as injury fears raised in Carlos Alcaraz clash

Novak Djokovic left the court with the physio during his Australian Open showdown with Carlos Alcaraz.

The world No. 7 raised concerns when he started grimacing after points and he was broken, giving Alcaraz the chance to serve for the first set at 5-4.

Djokovic called the trainer and appeared to gesture to an issue around his groin. He then walked off Rod Laver Arena for a medical timeout.

Djokovic came into his Australian Open quarter-final in an unusual position - as the seventh seed, he was the underdog against world No. 3 Alcaraz.

He broke immediately to start the match but Alcaraz quickly got back on serve and Djokovic started to struggle, venting towards his box and pulling up after some rallies.

The Spaniard broke again to take a 5-4 lead and both men headed to their benches for the change-of-ends. Djokovic immediately called the physio, who came to speak with him before they swiftly left the court.

"Not a surprise that the physio is out on court. It feels like a bit of a struggle for Djokovic right now," commentator Naomi Cavaday said.

Tim Henman, who was also calling the match, replied: "Looks like he was just touching his groin area. Going off the court."

The trainer assessed Djokovic's condition off the court before deciding to give an alloted medical-time out as the umpire announced the decision to the fans.

As the 37-year-old headed down the tunnel, Cavaday added: "It must be affecting his backhand because he's really been struggling on that side."

Alcaraz waited at his bench, knowing that the first set would be on his racket when play resumed. The No. 3 seed ran to the baseline to stay warm as the medical timeout continued off the court, practising some shadow swings.

Djokovic returned to the court with heavy strapping on his left thigh. Alcaraz quickly closed out the first set 6-4 when play resumed.

The medical attention seemed to do Djokovic some good - he took a 2-0 lead in set two. But Henman still thought the Serb didn't look "comfortable" off his left side.

"Clearly a change of tactics, Djokovic using a kicker [serve] and serve-and-volley off the second serve, trying to make the points shorter," he said, suggesting that Djokovic didn't want to get drawn into longer rallies.

Just like the first set, Alcaraz soon got back on serve to level the score but Djokovic broke in the final game to take it 6-4. The Serb continued to roll through, winning the third set 6-3.

He got the job done, winning 4-6 6-4 6-3 6-4 to reach his 50th Grand Slam semi-final. Djokovic went over to his box and hugged Andy Murray in celebration.