ADELAIDE: Novak Djokovic overcame an injury scare midway through his match against Daniil Medvedev on Saturday to mow down the Russian 6-3, 6-4 and storm into the Adelaide International final, where he will take on unseeded American Sebastian Korda.

In a blockbuster Australian Open warm-up meeting between the two former world number ones it was 21-times Grand Slam champion Djokovic who shot out of the blocks quickest, as he surged to a 4-2 lead in the opening set.

Djokovic was in some discomfort in the seventh game after hyper-extending his left hamstring while stretching to make a forehand, but he soldiered on and pulled off an exquisite lob before taking a medical timeout for treatment.

The 35-year-old Serb claimed the opening set and raised his game at 3-3 in the next by producing a blistering return and a smooth pass at the net, before Medvedev surrendered his serve with a double fault on breakpoint.

Djokovic saved a break point with a 200 kmh second serve before holding firm from there to seal a comfortable victory.

“Thankfully it was nothing too serious,” Djokovic said of his injury in an on-court interview. “If it was I wouldn’t be able to continue. I took anti-inflammatory [medication] and settled in. Hopefully for tomorrow it’ll be fine.”

The Jan 16-29 Australian Open will be without world number one Carlos Alcaraz following his leg injury and the organisers of the Melbourne Park major would have endured tense moments after nine-times champion Djokovic clutched his leg.

Up next for Djokovic is Korda, who reached the final after Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka retired due to an injury with the score at 7-6 (7-5), 1-0.

QUALIFIER STUNS JABEUR

In the women’s draw, unheralded Czech teenager Linda Noskova stunned world number two Ons Jabeur 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, with the qualifier into her first-ever final against second seed Aryna Sabalenka.

Noskova, 18, had already upset two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka en route to the semis and carried that into her clash with Jabeur in only her sixth tour-level event.

Jabeur had treatment on a lower back problem at 2-5 in the first set, but she bounced back to easily take the second before struggling in the third.

Sabalenka surged into the final by crushing Romanian veteran Irina-Camelia Begu 6-3, 6-2.

GAUFF FACES MASAROVA FOR AUCKLAND TITLE

Top seed Coco Gauff produced a commanding display for a 6-0, 6-2 win over Danka Kovinic at the Auckland Classic to reach her first final since a runner-up finish at the 2022 French Open.

The American will meet 2016 Junior Roland Garros singles champion Rebeka Masarova of Spain, who downed fellow qualifier Ysaline Bonaventure of Belgium 6-3, 6-3.

Published in Dawn, january 8th, 2023