Australia, Melbourne — A left leg muscle injury forced Novak Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam champion, to withdraw from the semifinal match against Alexander Zverev on Friday afternoon.
Following Zverev’s 81-minute first set victory in a tiebreak, Djokovic, who was wearing a lot of strapping on his left leg, cautiously walked to the net and shook hands with the world No. 2, giving up the match and guaranteeing Zverev’s spot in the final on Sunday.
As Djokovic made his way to the exit, the packed Rod Laver Arena booed him. In response, he gave two thumbs up.
“I did everything I possibly can to manage the muscle tear that I had,” a devastated Djokovic told reporters minutes after stepping off the court. “Medications and 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. It was getting worse and worse. It was just too much to handle for me at the moment.
“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, god knows, two, three, four hours. I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
Zverev defends Djokovic
In his on-court interview, Zverev, who will face either No. 21 Ben Shelton or reigning champion Jannik Sinner in his maiden Australian Open final, spoke to the booing fans and supported Djokovic.
“The very first thing I want to say is, please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,” Zverev said. “I know that everybody paid for tickets and wants to see hopefully a five-set match. He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, won this tournament with a hamstring injury. So please show some respect.”
The injury occurred earlier in the week when Djokovic defeated world No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals while vying for a record-tying 11th title at Melbourne Park.
This Friday’s retirement is the second time in the last 12 months that Djokovic has been sidelined by an injury during a Grand Slam. Due to a knee problem, he pulled out of his quarterfinal matchup with Casper Ruud at the French Open last year.
