CNN
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Novak Djokovic’s quest for a record 25th grand slam title has been cut short at the Australian Open after he stunningly retired from his semifinal match due to a left leg injury.
Djokovic was playing against world No. 2 Alexander Zverev in Melbourne on Friday, and the two had been neck-and-neck through much of the first set. The Serbian had been favoring his left leg throughout the match.
However, despite appearing to struggle with his movement, the match went into a first-set tie-break where he eventually lost 7-6 (5) after a grueling one hour and 21 minutes.
The crowd at Rod Laver Arena was visibly stunned as the two players shook hands and embraced at the net following the set. Djokovic waved to the crowd as he walked off the court, with some booing at him, while Zverev sat on the bench in disbelief over the result.
“The very first thing I want to say is: please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,” Zverev told the crowd after the match. “I know that everybody paid for tickets and everybody wants to see a hopefully five-set match and everything but you got to understand Novak Djokovic has given the sport, for the past 20 years, absolutely everything of his life.
“He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, he has won this tournament with a hamstring tear. If he cannot continue a tennis match, it really means that he cannot continue a tennis match. So, please, be respectful and really show some love for Novak as well.”
Djokovic advanced to the semifinal after a four-set epic battle against Carlos Alcaraz, where he was forced to take a medical timeout as he dealt with what appeared to be an upper leg injury.
“I didn’t hit the ball since (the) Alcaraz match, until like an hour before today’s match,” Djokovic said after the match. “I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had.”
Djokovic continued: “Medications and, I guess, the strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today. But towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain and it was too much to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
When asked if he had won the first set if he would’ve continued, the 10-time Australian Open champion said he would’ve tried to maybe play a few more games, but that the injury kept getting “worse and worse.”
“I knew, even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for another two, three, four hours. I don’t think I had that unfortunately today in the tank.”
The Serbian, who was bidding to claim an outright record 25th grand slam to surpass Australia’s Margaret Court, didn’t close out a return to the grand slam tournament next year.
“I don’t know, there is a chance, who knows? I’ll just have to see how the season goes,” Djokovic said on if he had played his last Australian Open. “I want to keep going but whether I am going to have a revised schedule or not for the next year, I’m not sure. I normally like to come to Australia and play and I’ve had the biggest success in my career here, so if I’m fit, healthy, and motivated I don’t see a reason why I wouldn’t come.”
Meanwhile, with the victory, Zverev advances to his first career final at the Australian Open. The German is seeking to capture his first career grand slam title.
Zverev will next play against the winner of the other semifinal between American Ben Shelton and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
