Novak Djokovic's bid for a record-extending 11th Australian Open title ended abruptly after he was forced to retire due to a left leg muscle tear during his semi-final match against Alexander Zverev.
Novak Djokovic was met with boos from some Australian Open spectators after retiring hurt during his semi-final match against Alexander Zverev . Djokovic, aiming for a record-breaking 11th Australian Open title and a standalone 25th major championship, was forced to withdraw after losing the first set 7-6 (7-5) in 80 minutes. The 37-year-old Serbian had been nursing a left leg muscle tear sustained during his quarter-final victory against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday.
Djokovic acknowledged his valiant effort to manage the injury. 'I did everything I possibly could do to manage the muscle tear that I had,' he stated. 'It was too much to handle for me.' After hitting a volley into the net on set point, Djokovic immediately approached Zverev, shook his hand, waved to the crowd, and gave them a double thumbs up, despite the audible boos from certain sections of Rod Laver Arena. 'I knew even if I won the first set, that it's going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for two, three, four hours,' Djokovic added. Second seeded German Zverev, still chasing his first Grand Slam title, was left to contemplate the unexpected turn of events. Djokovic's injury concerns became evident during his quarter-final against Alcaraz. He grimaced after lunging for a drop shot, raising questions about his ability to continue. Nevertheless, Djokovic, known for his remarkable resilience, defied the injury to secure a stunning victory against the 21-year-old. He had not practiced at Melbourne Park since his win on Tuesday night, canceling a planned hit session on Thursday and spending an hour warming up on court shortly before the semi-final.Zverev, addressing the crowd during his on-court interview, urged them to refrain from booing injured players. 'I know everyone paid for tickets and wants to see a five-set match, but you have to understand Novak Djokovic is someone who has given absolutely everything to tennis,' he said. 'If he cannot continue this match, it means he really cannot continue.' Djokovic struggled from the outset of the semi-final, failing to make the most of Zverev's errors. The former world number one was fortunate not to be penalized more by Zverev who struggled with his first serve. Zverev, playing passively behind the baseline, made crucial errors on four break points he created in the third game of the match. Two forehands and a backhand were meekly dumped into the net before he framed a forehand into the front rows of the stand on the fourth. After three grueling games spanning 23 minutes, Djokovic had three break points himself at 2-1 but couldn't capitalize. Djokovic's service games improved, but he had to save another break point at 4-4, and the labored walks to the chair and anguished facial expressions became more pronounced. Despite the early conclusion to the match, the news came as a shock to most of the 15,000 crowd on Rod Laver Arena, including Zverev himself. Asked if he had any indication Djokovic was struggling, Zverev laughed: 'No, I actually thought it was a high-level set. Maybe in the tie-break he was not moving as well, but I thought we had extremely long, physical rallies.
Novak Djokovic Alexander Zverev Australian Open Tennis Injury Retirement
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