In a stunning development at the Australian Open, an injured Novak Djokovic withdrew after losing the first set of his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
Zverev won a grueling first set in a 7-6 tiebreaker that lasted an hour and 20 minutes. Djokovic decided he could not continue due to a left leg injury that hampered him throughout the match. The 10-time Australian Open champion later revealed the injury was a torn muscle.
As soon as the set ended, Djokovic gave a thumbs up and conceded the match. Zverev and the very pro-Djoker crowd at Rod Laver Arena fell silent in disbelief.
“Please, guys, don’t boo a player when he comes out injured,” Zverev said on the pitch during his post-match interview.
“I know that everyone has paid for their tickets and that everyone wants to see a great match in five sets. But you have to understand that for 20 years, Novak Djokovic has given absolutely everything to tennis,” he added . “He won this tournament with a torn abdominal, a torn hamstring. If he can’t continue this match, that means he really can’t continue.”
Djokovic set the tone early in the match and appeared to control the game, much to Zverev’s frustration. Although the injury hampered him in his quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz and he was unable to practice on Wednesday or Thursday before the match against Zverev, it did not appear to be a problem. This obviously changed as the first set progressed.
“Until an hour before today’s match, I did everything I could to deal with my torn muscle,” Djokovic later told reporters.
“The medication, the strap and the physiotherapy work helped to some extent today,” he continued. “But towards the end of that first set, I started feeling more and more pain, and it was too much for me to handle at the moment. So, unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
For Djokovic, the withdrawal means he will not win his record 25th major title. Injuries have prevented him from completing two of his last four Grand Slam tournaments.
Zverev will face the winner of the other men’s semifinal between defending tournament champion and No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner and No. 21 Ben Shelton.
