NOVAK Djokovic admitted the amount of high intensity matches which both he and Andy Murray had played during their 2016 shoot-out for the Grand Slams and year-end No 1 spot had probably caught up with them as he joined the Scot in making an injury enforced exit at the semi-final stage of this year’s Wimbledon.

While Murray, despite experiencing clear discomfort with a hip problem, toughed it out till the death against Sam Querrey, the Serb said enough was enough with his ongoing elbow problems after just more than an hour as he trailed Tomas Berdych 7-6(2), 2-0 on Court No 1 yesterday. He cut an understandably downbeat figure afterwards, and saying that the two and a half hours he had spent on the treatment table were in vain, and the unbearable pain in the joint as he hit his serve and forehand after the first 30 minutes made it impossible for him to continue. His was the tenth retiral in this year’s men’s singles and all things considered it probably didn’t help that he had to play his last two matches in back-to-back days due the fact that Gilles Muller’s last 16 victory against Rafa Nadal overran and the stubbornness of the All England Club schedulers. Surgery and an extended break from tennis were both live options.

“It’s the elbow that keeps bothering me, for over a year and a half no actually,” said Djokovic. “It’s unfortunate I had to finish Wimbledon, a Grand Slam, this way. I mean, if someone feels bad about it, it’s me. I tried what I could do from yesterday to get it in the condition where I’m able to play. I was able maybe for 30 minutes to play with a level of pain that was bearable, let’s say it that way. The intensity and the level of pain was not decreasing - it was only increasing as the days went by. Unfortunately today was the worst day. Probably the fact that I played yesterday, kind of days adding up, wasn’t helping at all.

“Myself and Andy both had a very long, very tough year in 2016, with a lot of matches, a lot of emotions, a lot of things in play,” added the Serb, who will take medical advice as he seeks a long-term answer to the problem. In the short term, some rearrangement of his schedule is inevitable. “Our bodies have taken a lot physically. As an athlete, one way or another, at a certain stage of your career, you’re going to experience these kind of things. Injuries are part of this sport, unfortunately. Professional tennis is getting very physical in the last couple of years. It’s not easy to play on the highest level throughout the entire season, do that over and over again and stay healthy.”

His opponent certainly wasn’t complaining, the Czech going off into the night dreaming of emulating 2010, when he overcame Roger Federer and Djokovic to face Nadal in the final. “This year I’ve beaten Novak, and now I’m playing Roger, so it would be great. And Rafa is not there any more.”

The other unlikely name in the Wimbledon last four is Marin Cilic, the 28-year-old Croat - who captured the 2014 US Open title - recovering from the loss of the first set to take out a 3-6, 7-6 (8) 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 win against the game Gilles Muller. Rather than Andy Murray, he now faces an unlikely semi-final match up against Sam Querrey. “I believe in my own abilities,” he said. “I believe that when I get to these stages of the tournament, I’m going to still be able to play great tennis. I know I have it in me that I can win. That’s extremely important. The only part that it could be easier for me is that Sam hasn’t been at this part of a tournament so far. But I don’t think it’s going to matter big-time.”

As hard as he fought, Muller ultimately conformed to type when it came to players vanquishing Nadal at Wimbledon and crashing out in the next round. “I think I did my job pretty well after that match to stay focused, to try to let all the hype around me take any effect,” Muller said. “He was just better at the end.”