Medvedev breaks silence on sudden retirement during Djokovic clash in Astana Open: ‘Felt a strange pop in my adductor’

Just when the blockbuster semi-final match between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev was in for a thriller on Saturday night in Astana Open, the Russian suddenly retired from the match, at the end of the second set tie-break. He told Djokovic about an injury concern after they shook hands to put an end to proceedings, leaving the Serb completely baffled. But Medvedev later explained the reason behind his sudden retirement from the match.

Speaking to the press after the match, Medvedev revealed that he had pulled a muscle during the tie-break of the second set which he eventually lost 7-6(6) after claiming the first set 6-4).

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“It’s the second time in my life I retired like this with a pulled muscle,” Medvedev explained later. “So here, on the second point of the tie-break, I felt a little bit [of a] strange pop in my adductor. I first thought maybe it is cramp and after the point I was like, `No, probably not a cramp.’

“And during the tie-break, I felt I can play like five, 10 more points but that’s it. If I play one more set, you can do it, but you can probably miss half a year instead of one month.”

Medvedev was aiming for his second ATP title this season after having won the ATP 500 event in Los Cabos. He looked strong in the opening set which he won, hence continuing his streak of not dropping a set in the event while also ending Djokovic’s run of 14 consecutive sets since his return to the ATP tour.

“I actually have no idea what is fair,” Medvedev said when discussing his decision to retire. “If I won, I would not play the final. I was like, ‘OK, I just try to hit some shots’. If I manage to win, well I cannot do anything, I will retire. If I lose, congrats to Novak, he’s still in great shape. Good luck to him in the final.”

With Djokovic in the final, for the second consecutive time in return, he will now be aiming for his 90th tour-level title when he goes up against Stefanos Tistsipas on Sunday.