Injured Djokovic unfolds after exiting semi-final

Novak Djokovic was booed off court by Australian Open fans after retiring injured from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.

Djokovic, who was chasing a record 11th title, quit after losing the first set 7-6 (7-5) in 80 minutes.

The 37-year-old Serbian had his upper left leg heavily taped after injuring it during Tuesday’s quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz.

“I did everything I could do to deal with the muscle tear I had,” said Djokovic, who was also aiming for a standalone record of 25 major titles.

“Towards the end of that first set, I started to feel more and more pain.

“It was too much for me to handle.”

After slapping a volley into the net on set point, seventh seed Djokovic immediately approached Zverev and shook hands.

He greeted the crowd and gave them a double thumbs up, despite audible boos from some sections inside Rod Laver Arena.

“I knew that even if I won the first set, that it will be a huge uphill battle for me to stay fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for two, three, four hours,” Djokovic added.

“I don’t think I had that in the tank today.”

German second seed Zverev is still bidding for his first Grand Slam title after losing twice in major finals.

He will face Italian top seed Jannik Sinner or American 21st seed Ben Shelton in Sunday’s final.

‘Don’t boo a player when they are injured’

From the moment Djokovic lunged for a drop shot late in the first set against Alcaraz and immediately grimaced in his box, there were questions about his fitness.

Djokovic, as he has done on countless occasions in his stellar career, managed to defy injury to achieve a remarkable victory against the 21-year-old.

But doubts remained how well he would be equipped to play Zverev.

Djokovic had not practiced at Melbourne Park since Tuesday night’s victory, canceling a planned shot on Thursday before spending an hour warming up on court shortly before the semi-final.

Djokovic did not practice between matches during his 2023 run and later revealed he had a three-centimeter tear in his hamstring.

He also won the 2021 title despite tearing an abdominal muscle in the third round.

“The very first thing I want to say is, please, guys, don’t boo when a player is injured,” Zverev said, addressing the crowd in his on-court interview.

“I know everyone has paid for tickets and wants to see a five-set match, but you have to understand that Novak Djokovic is someone who has given his all to tennis.

“He won this title with an abdominal tear, he won this title with a hamstring tear.

“If he can’t continue this match, that means he really can’t continue.”

Signs that Djokovic was struggling

Djokovic looked well below his best since the start of the semi-final.

The former world number one was fortunate not to be further punished by Zverev as he struggled poorly with his first serve.

Zverev, playing passively behind the baseline, produced bad errors on all four break points he created in the third play of the match.

Two strokes and a backhand were obediently tossed into the net before framing a forehand into the front rows of the stand on the fourth.

After three match slogs spanning 23 minutes, Djokovic had three break points himself at 2-1 but couldn’t take his chance.

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.

Nevertheless, the end of the match was a shock to most of the 15,000 crowd on Rod Laver Arena – and Zverev himself.

Asked if he had any indication that Djokovic was struggling, Zverev laughed: “No, I actually thought it was a top set.

“Of course there have been difficulties and the longer you go on, maybe the worse it gets.

“Maybe in the tiebreaker he wasn’t moving as well, but I thought we had extremely long physical rallies.”