Novak Djokovic withdrawn from Australian Open Semi-final to a choir of sections of the crowd of the Rod Laver Arena as an opponent Alexander Zverev called for “respect” to be shown at the 10 times champion.
Djokovic immediately shaken Zverev’s hand by losing the equality break of the first set after having fought with a torn muscle in the left left leg, supported in his return to the quarterfinals On the third seeded Carlos Alcaraz Tuesday.
There were a few airs of the crowd when the match ended much earlier than expected and the 37 -year -old, who bid to become the oldest chelem champion of all time in Melbourne, held his thumbs leaving the court.
Djokovic later admitted that there was a chance that he played if he had won the first set, but, with 82 minutes already on the stopwatch, the Serb said that he had nothing left in the tank to come back from behind.
While Zverev was left in court after reaching his first Australian open final, the second German seeded congratulated Djokovic and called on the crowd to be more “respectful” towards the Grand Slam champion, who then raised doubt To find out if it would come back in 2026.
“The very first thing I mean is not to huer a player when he is injured,” said Zverev, who was forced to withdraw from a semi-final in France against Rafael Nadal after Tear the ankle ligaments three years ago.
“I know everyone has paid tickets and wants to see a five sets match, but you have to understand Novak Djokovic has been someone who has given this sport for 20 years absolutely everything in their life.
“He won this tournament with an abdominal tear,” won this tournament with a tear in the hamstrings, if he feels that he cannot continue a tennis match, he cannot continue a tennis match. So please the guys, be respectful. Also show a little love for Novak.
Djokovic played with an injury to the hammered hamstrings torn to win the Australian Open two years ago, but said that the pain was different this time.
He admitted after defeating Alcaraz that he would have planned to retire the match if he had lost the second set and that he was unable to cope from behind to beat Zverev.
“I haven’t hit a ball since the Alcaraz match, so until an hour before today’s match,” he said. “I have done everything I can to mainly manage the muscle tear I had, drugs and strap, and physio work has helped to some extent today.
“But towards the end of this first set, I started to feel more and more pain. It was too much, I suppose, to manage for me right now. Unhappy end, but I tried.
“If I won the first set, I might try a few more games, half a set, maybe a set. I don’t know. This was getting worse.
“I knew that even if I won the first set, that it will be a huge difficult battle for me to stay in good shape to stay with him in the gatherings, you know, for another God knows what, two, three , four hours. Unfortunately, I don’t think I had that today in the tank.
Djokovic admitted that there was a “chance” that he played at Australian Open for the last time, but insisted that he remains motivated to continue other titles.
Injuries now become a major obstacle to Djokovic’s objective to win a record title of the 25th Grand Slam, with the French opening of last season also stopped prematurely when he suffered damage to his knee ligaments .
“How many concerns are it?” I don’t know. It is not as if I care about approaching each big home now, whether I injure myself or not, but the statistics are against me in a way in the past two years, “said Djokovic.
“But I will continue. I will continue to endeavor to win more slams. And as long as I feel that I want to endure all this, I will be there.
Djokovic also said that he and Andy Murray would discuss their future together after the injury suddenly finished their coach agreement.
Djokovic shocked the world of tennis last year when he named the former rival Murray as a coach On a short -term agreement until the end of the Australian Open.
Murray admitted the offer I took it by surprise After telling his friends that he had not planned to turn to training after his retirement from the match.
But Djokovic said he would only have “positive” comments for Murray, and rented its impact After the quarter -final victory over his young rival Alcaraz.
“I will certainly chat with Andy and thank him for being here with me,” said Djokovic. “We are always with a hot and disappointed head, so it is difficult to change the page and start talking about the next steps. I think we both have to cool off and then discuss. “”
Murray remained tight, however, telling journalists in Melbourne: “Me and Novak agreed that after the tournament, we are talking. We will do so.
Meanwhile, Zverev will face the defending champion Jannik sinner In the final of Sunday after n ° 1 in the world, Ben Shelton dismissed Ben Shelton in straight sets to set up the chance of consecutive titles in Melbourne.
Sinner won his first Grand Chelem at Australian Open 12 months ago when he arrived From two sets to defeat Daniil Medvedev And the Italian has since underlined his status as best player in the world.
Zverev, 27, has the advantage of playing for a little over an hour against Djokovic, while Sinner needed much longer to defeat Shelton 7-6 6-2 6-2 and was fighting with Cramp while The match ends after midnight.
Zverev has his demons in the final of the Grand Chelem, however, losing the open final final of two sets at Dominic Thiem in 2020 and the Open of France from two sets to a counter Carlos Alcaraz last June.
And Djokovic said he would like to see the German doing his breakthrough of the Grand Chelem. “I wish Sascha all the best,” said Djokovic. “He deserves his first click. I will applaud him. I hope he can get it.
Sinner is on a winner of 20 games at the Grand Chelem in Court Hard-Court after winning the Australian Open and the United States Open titles last season and now reaching a third major final.
But the last player to beat Sinner at Australian Open or US Open was Zverev, after the German won a five set to Flushing Meadows in 2023. Zverev also won four of the six games he played against Sinner .
“A very difficult match,” said Sinner while watching the final. “We have had very difficult matches in the past. He is an incredible player and is looking for his first major. There will be a lot of tension but I am happy to put myself in this position. I will enjoy it.
