Novak Djokovic's US Open title defence came to an abrupt end on Sunday night as he retired hurt during his fourth-round match against Stan Wawrinka, drawing jeers from the Arthur Ashe Stadium crowd. The world number one and top seed was trailing 6-4, 7-5, 2-1 when he informed his opponent and the chair umpire that he could no longer continue due to a sore left shoulder.
The 16-time major champion had been struggling with the injury for weeks, but it flared up during the match against the 23rd-seeded Wawrinka. Despite a brief fightback at the start of the second set, Djokovic was outplayed, winning only 84% of his first-serve points compared to Wawrinka's 84% of his own. The Swiss, a three-time grand slam winner, broke Djokovic twice in the second set to take a commanding lead.
“I’m sorry for the crowd,” said Djokovic. “Obviously 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.” The 32-year-old, who had not lost before the quarter-finals at Flushing Meadows since his teenage years, added that the pain had been constant but varied in intensity.
Wawrinka, who now leads Djokovic 3-2 in their last seven meetings, said he noticed signs of trouble but stayed focused on his own game. “For sure I could see some little things that he was in trouble,” he said. “But I was most likely, most of the time, focused on myself because I know how well he can fight.”
The 34-year-old Wawrinka advances to a quarter-final clash with fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, who overcame German qualifier Dominik Koepfer in four sets earlier on Sunday. “He’s been playing amazing tennis,” said Wawrinka of Medvedev. “It’s going to be an interesting match.”
