After "tear definitely of the muscle," Djokovic holds off Fritz in 5

A mid-match injury appeared to all but derail Novak Djokovic’s hopes of winning a ninth Australian Open crown and moving to within two majors of the all-time men's record late Friday night in Melbourne.

Taylor Fritz still had to process and capitalize on the circumstances, though—and while the American reached a fifth set with the world No. 1, Djokovic willed himself to the finish line to eke out a 7-6 (1), 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-2 victory.

The top seed soon downplayed his chances for the remainder of the event, telling Colin Fleming, "I know it's a tear, definitely, of the muscle. 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 gonna step out onto the court or not."

Fritz was candid about his assessment of Djokovic's health when asked about it in his press conference around 12:45 a.m. local time.

"I think if you guys all watched the match, [it] looked like he was struggling in the third and the fourth, and he didn't really look like he was struggling in the fifth. When I hit a winner, he'd kind of, like, pull at it," he said. "He looked fine in the fifth. Let's be honest. Maybe he fought through it, but I'm happy for him that he had such a good recovery and he's feeling a lot better, so..."

Up two sets, the world No. 1 slipped at 1-1 in the third set. Clutching an area near his right oblique, Djokovic was treated for an off-court medical timeout on the next changeover and was given another treatment at his player bench two games later. But the damage was done: his movement, especially when shifting to his right, and acceleration on his backswing, were visibly diminished.

In the eighth game, Fritz broke when Djokovic overcooked an inside-out forehand. The No. 27 seed closed out the set at love when the top seed netted a backhand.

Djokovic then dropped serve at 1-1 in the fourth, decelerating on a forehand that also caught the net.

To add to the drama, in a sense, with Fritz leading 3-2, all spectators were told to clear out in order to meet the midnight curfew that came with Friday’s COVID-19 lockdown measure in Victoria. The American wasn't pleased that play was interrupted for a sizable period.

"To be completely honest, it's absolutely ridiculous that at a Grand Slam match, we're asked to leave the court for 10 minutes in the middle of the match. That shouldn't be a thing at a Grand Slam," he said. "I understand the fact that Victoria is going back into lockdown and people have to go. If that's the case, then we shouldn't have played tonight if we weren't going to finish the match on time."

The audience now reduced to player boxes, Fritz wasn't impacted by the sudden change. He went about his business at the line, holding without much confrontation to push the encounter into a decider. Djokovic continued employing a first-serve only strategy to keep points short and found great success with his backhand drop shot in the fifth.

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With Fritz serving at 2-3, 30-0, Djokovic let his inner champion out. Three well-timed returns, and one very compact forehand, suddenly brought him a break point. Playing to win his biggest swing point since the second set, Djokovic engaged in an extended rally and showed his range had improved when he put his weight into a forehand up the line that caught the baseline for a winner.

Fritz saved two match points in the eighth game, but Djokovic persisted to complete the laboring victory in three hours and 25 minutes.

"This is definitely one of the most special wins in my life. Doesn't matter what round it is and against who it is," said Djokovic. "Under these kind of circumstances to pull this through is definitely something I'll remember forever.

"I just tried to stay in there, and I was hopeful that whatever is happening there is going to feel better. And towards the end of the fourth, it started to feel better."

The 33-year-old, if healthy to continue, will carry a 11-0 record against Milos Raonic heading into their fourth-round meeting.