Alexander Zverev in the Australian Open final while Djokovic retires

Melbourne, Australia-Novak Djokovic, twenty-four times Grand Chelem champion, withdrew Friday afternoon from his semi-final of the Australian Open against Alexander Zverev, unable to continue due to a muscle tear on the left leg.

After Zverev won a first 81-minute marathon set in a tie-break, Djokovic, who played with heavy straps on his left thigh, went with caution to the net and shakes the hand of the world’s number 2, Grabs the match and confirming the place of Zverev. During the final of Sunday.

The large crowd of Rod Laver Arena Hue Djokovic while he was heading for the exit, and he replied by raising the two inches.

“I did everything I could to manage the muscle tear I had,” said Djokovic shot down to journalists a few minutes after leaving the field. “The drugs, the strap and the work of Physio helped me to a certain extent today, (but) towards the end of this first set, I just started to feel more and more pain. Was worse in worse.

“I knew that even if I won the first set, it would be a difficult battle for me to stay physically enough to stay with him in exchanges for again, God knows, two, three, four hours. I do not do it .

Zverev, who will play his first final of the Australian Open against the defending champion Jannik Sinner or the number 21 Ben Shelton, addressed the hued fans and defended Djokovic during his interview on the field.

“The very first thing I mean is, please guys, don’t put a player when he leaves injured,” said Zverev. “I know that everyone has paid for his tickets and wants to see, hopefully, a match in five sets. He won this tournament with an abdominal tear, won this tournament with an injury to the hamstrings. So S ‘ You like it, show a little respect. “

Djokovic was looking for an 11th record title in Melbourne Park and injured himself in his quarter -final victory against the world number 3 Carlos Alcaraz earlier in the week.

The abandonment of Friday marks the second time in the last 12 months that Djokovic is forced to abandon a Grand Slam tournament due to an injury. In Roland-Garros last year, he retired from his quarter-final against Casper Ruud due to a knee problem.

“It is true that, you know, I have injured myself a lot in recent years. I don’t know what exactly the reason is,” said Djokovic. “It is not as if I worried about each great home now whether I will injure myself or not, but the statistics are against me, in a way, in the past two years.

“I will continue to try to win more great chelems and as long as I feel that I want to endure all this, I will be there.”

Djokovic will now investigate in more detail in his injury to determine how long he will be absent.

“When I go back to Europe, I will come together with the medical team and my physiotherapists to try to understand what we can do and the fastest way to recover and put us back on the right track,” he declared. “I still planned the Doha tournament in a few weeks. Whether I play it or not, it really depends on the speed with which I recover. It simply depends on the muscle and how it reacts to treatment.”.