(Reuters) -Novak Djokovic battled through a left leg injury and heat exhaustion to beat Jaume Munar 6-3 5-7 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals at the Shanghai Masters on Tuesday.
Djokovic, 38, had to take a medical timeout after picking up the injury during the first set of an encounter that stretched to two hours and 41 minutes. He also struggled with the heat and medics checked his vitals at one point, as the temperature stayed near 30 degrees Celsius and humidity hovered around 80%.
The Serbian had also vomited during his match against Yannick Hanfmann on Sunday, the same day world number two Jannik Sinner retired due to cramps.
The 38-year-old had called the conditions “brutal” earlier in the tournament.
Fourth seed Djokovic, who had got the first break of the match to go 3-1 up in the opening set before he hurt his leg, could not break Munar’s serve during the second set, which the world number 41 won after a 75-minute battle.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner bent over in exhaustion and needed more medical attention before clinching the decisive third set with two well-timed breaks.
Djokovic collapsed on the court after winning the match. He is set to face Zizou Bergs in the last eight.
Earlier on Tuesday, Emma Raducanu retired from her Wuhan Open match against Ann Li after struggling with exhaustion and having her blood pressure checked on a hot and humid afternoon.
The ATP said it would consider introducing a formal heat rule.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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