Novak Djokovic retired from his quarterfinal match against Feliciano Lopez at the Dubai Tennis Championships due to an eye infection, according to the BBC.
Djokovic has been dealing with an infection in both eyes, and said that he has been suffering from it since the beginning of the tournament. Djokovic had previously had a streak of 17-straight final appearances across all tournaments, but his withdrawal now ends that run. Djokovic said that the infection originally was only in his right eye, but it eventually spread to his left eye as well.
"It's an eye problem," Djokovic said at his news conference after the match. "I have had it ever since I arrived to Dubai. Started with an infection, and then severe allergy."
Trainers told Djokovic to limit wearing contact lenses to help with the infection, as they can "aggravate" the condition. Djokovic had not retired from a match since 2011, when he was playing in the Davis Cup against Juan Martin del Potro. Djokovic previously has made it to 17-straight finals dating back to the 2015 Australian Open, winning 13 of those tournaments. The streak now ends one shy of the record of 198 straight set by Ivan Lendl.
Djokovic was down 1-2 in the match against Lopez when he called on the trainer to come out. Djokovic continued on after that and lost the first set 6-3, and then retired after that. Lopez will now continue into the next round against Marcos Baghdatis.
"I just hope this problem with the eye will fade away in the next couple of days," Djokovic said.
