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Djokovic had wrapped up a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Italian Andreas Seppi when the incident happened.
The Serb left his racquets and bag on the court and limped straight up the players tunnel to receive a medical assessment in the locker room.
Djokovic was unable to complete a television interview he had agreed to after his victory over Seppi.
Djokovic only arrived in Perth from Abu Dhabi late on Sunday and said he was troubled by jet lag.
“I felt this morning that I was dream-walking,” he said. “I broke the ice after the first set and started to feel better.”
Djokovic and Ana Ivanovic held an unassailable 2-0 in the tie against the Italian pairing of Seppi and Francesca Schiavone.
Ivanovic had begun the day by beating Schiavone 6-0, 6-4.
Djokovic is taking part in the round-robin teams event to be guaranteed at least three matches in his build-up to the Australian Open, which begins on January 14.
Meanwhile, in Brisbane, Australia, former world number one Caroline Wozniacki lost valuable Australian Open match practice when she was bundled out of the first round of the Brisbane International by Kazakhstan qualifier Ksenia Pervak yesterday.
In a titanic battle lasting 2hrs 48mins, left-handed Pervak eased past Wozniacki 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) in the first shock of the season-opening WTA tournament.
Eighth-seeded Wozniacki had looked in control as she reeled off the first set in just 29 minutes.
But the Russian-born Pervak found her range in the second set and had the Dane constantly under pressure with her swinging left-handed groundstrokes.
She won the set to level the match then stunned Wozniacki in the deciding set with an all-out attack.
“I had a really tough match yesterday, we played for three hours and I was tired in the beginning,” Pervak said.
“But then I got into the game (and) it was easy. I won a few games and I felt that I can do it and I started to fight more.”
Pervak said she knew she could not give the more experienced Wozniacki any cheap points in the tiebreak.
“I just told myself that I needed to be focused on every point and just play my game as aggressively as I could,” she said.
Wozniacki will play in Sydney next week in a last-ditch bid to find some form ahead of the January 14-27 Australian Open in Melbourne.
“Obviously you’re a competitor so you want to win and you’re not happy about it when you lose, no matter who you lose to or how you lose,” she said.
“I fought until the end today. Maybe I didn’t play my best tennis today, but it’s tough to expect that from yourself in your first match back.
“Hopefully I can now play some practice matches with some of the other girls here and then go to Sydney and hopefully get a couple more there.”
It was 21-year-old Pervak’s first win over a top 10 player and the first time she has been past the first round in Brisbane in four attempts.
Fourth seed Angelique Kerber survived a tough three-setter against Georgia’s Anna Tatishvili, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, while German compatriot Sabine Lisicki had a more straightforward 6-2, 6-4 win over Czech Lucie Safarova.
French Open runner-up and fifth seed Sara Errani thumped Russia’s Olga Puchkova 6-1, 6-3.
In the men’s draw Japan’s fifth seeded Kei Nishikori downed Australian number one Marinko Matosevic 7-5, 6-2, sixth seed Florian Mayer beat Santiago Giraldo of Colombia 6-4, 6-4 and Finland’s Jarkko Nieminen outlasted Frenchman Julien Benneteau 6-3, 2-6, 6-1.
Second seeded Russian Maria Sharapova plays her opening match on Tuesday against Australia’s Jarmila Gajdosova and said she was full of confidence heading into the new season.
“I’m feeling quite well. I had a really nice off season and just time to reflect on the year that passed,” a relaxed Sharapova said.
“You go from tournament to tournament, and even when you achieve something like winning a grand slam you’re not really given a chance to reflect on what you achieved.
“This was probably the busiest year for me in terms of match play and travelling, so having that chance to really reflect on the year and what you achieved and coming back from shoulder surgery and winning the French Open as my first grand slam (since surgery) was really nice.”
And in Auckland, New Zealand, defending champion Zheng Jie crashed out in the first round of the ASB Classic women’s tennis tournament yesterday, falling to rising American star Jamie Hampton 7-5, 6-1. Two-times Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova was also sent packing on the opening day, beaten in a three-set marathon by Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands.
Zheng, seeded fourth in the tournament that serves as a warm-up to next month’s Australian Open, raced to an early 3-0 lead in the opening set before Hampton fought back to level at 5-5.
The German-born American, who has soared up the rankings from 137 to 70 over the past year, then broke Zheng in a love game before taking out the set with an ace in the following game.
The second set was all Hampton, as she used her strong cross-court forehand to dominate the more experienced Chinese in one hour 20 minutes.
In blustery conditions, the 21-year-old Bertens fought back from a set down to beat former world number two Kuznetsova 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 7-5.
Bertens, who has risen in the rankings from 184 to 63 during 2012, grew in confidence despite serving 10 double faults in the strong wind.
After losing the opening set tie-break in the 2hr 33min marathon, she held her concentration against the 28-year-old Russian veteran, who is making a comeback after a first-round knee injury at Wimbledon ended her 2012 season.
American Christina McHale was the second ranked player dumped out on the opening day, with the seventh seed losing in straight sets to France’s Pauline Parmentier 6-4, 6-1.
Tournament top seed Agnieszka Radwanska has her opening match on Tuesday against 2011 winner Greta Arn, who had to rely on the luck of the draw to make the field this year.
Arn lost her final-round match in the qualifying tournament to Thai player Nudnida Laungnam. But her name was later drawn at random from among four players to replace Kristina Mladenovic, who was a late withdrawal from the Classic. — AFP.
Online Reporter