Age seems to be catching up with Novak Djokovic, the Serbian already 37 years old. Despite his age, he reached another Australian Open semi-final in 2025 as he chases a record 11th Grand Slam title in Melbourne. The world No. 7 is set to face Alexander Zverev in the semi-final on Friday, but is believed to be suffering from a left leg injury, which he suffered during his quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz.
Djokovic reportedly hasn’t trained since then and also decided to skip practice on Thursday. This led to rumors that he could withdraw from his semi-final against Zverev, but no decision has been made yet. His semi-final against the German is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. at the Rod Laver Arena.
According to reports, Djokovic booked court 16 for a short training session on Friday, just 90 minutes before his scheduled semi-final against Zverev.
Meanwhile, tennis legend John McEnroe feels Djokovic is faking his injury, to gain a mental advantage over his opponent. But his quarter-final opponent Alcaraz doesn’t think so. After his loss to the Serb, he said: “I think everyone saw in the second set, he struggled a little bit. I’m not saying, like, he put on a show. It’s obvious and everyone saw that he was struggling in the second set. »
It should be noted that Djokovic also suffered an injury during the 2023 Australian Open, where he suffered a 3cm tear in his left hamstring and carried heavy collisions in every match, while he beat Stefanos Tsisipas in the final.
“When I entered my box, I just think the emotion collapsed there and tore with especially my mother and my brother when I gave them a hug, because until that moment, I never didn’t allow myself, I guess, to be distracted by things off the field or whatever was going on to deal with an injury, things that were also happening on the field that could easily have been a big disruption to my goal and for my game,” Djokovic said.
“It required a huge amount of mental energy to stay present, stay focused, take things day by day and really see how far I can go. Yes, it was a huge relief. Really find some more words.
Having already skipped two sessions, he should make his decision 90 minutes before his semi-final against Zverev.
