Cnn
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The quest for Novak Djokovic for a record title of the 25th Grand Chelem was interrupted at the Australian Open after his retirement surprisingly in his match in the semi-finals due to a left leg injury.
Djokovic played against the world n ° 2 Alexander Zverev in Melbourne on Friday, and the two had been lying in elbow for a large part of the first set. The Serb had favored his left leg throughout the match.
However, although he seems to have struggled with his movement, the match entered an equality of equality of first set where he finally lost 7-6 (5) after an exhausting hour and 21 minutes.
The crowd of Rod Laver Arena was visibly amazed while the two players shook their hands and kissed on the net after the set. Djokovic made a sign of the crowd when he left the field, with a few hoots, while Zverev was seated on the bench with disbelief.
“The very first thing I mean is: please, guys, don’t put a player when he goes out with an injury,” Zverev told the crowd after the match. “I know that everyone has paid for tickets and that everyone wants to see a five sets match, but everything, but you must understand that Novak Djokovic has given sport, for 20 years, absolutely all of their life.
“He won this tournament with an abdominal tear, he won this tournament with a tear in the hamstrings. If he cannot continue a tennis match, it really means that he cannot continue a tennis match. So, please be respectful and also show a little love for Novak. »»
Djokovic qualified in the semi-finals after an epic battle of four sets against Carlos Alcaraz, where he was forced to take a medical period when he was dealing with what seemed to be a higher leg injury.
“I haven’t hit the ball since Alcaraz’s match, up to an hour before today’s match,” said Djokovic after the match. “I did everything I can to manage the muscle tear that I had essentially.”
Djokovic continued: “The drugs and, I suppose, the strap and the work of Physio have contributed to a certain measure today. But towards the end of this first set, I just started to feel more and more pain and it was too much to manage for me for the moment. Unhappy end, but I tried.
When he was asked if he had won the first set if he had continued, the 10 times champion of the Australian Open said that he would have tried to play perhaps a few more games, but that The injury did not stop becoming “worse.”
“I knew, even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge difficult battle for me to stay enough to stay with him in the gatherings for two, three, four hours. I do not think that I had unfortunately that today in the tank.
The Serbian, who has bid to claim a pure and simple record from the 25th Grand Chelem to exceed the Margaret court of Australia, did not finish the return to the Grand Slam tournament next year.
“I don’t know, there’s a chance, who knows?” I’m just going to have to see how the season takes place, “said Djokovic on if he had played his last Australian open. “I want to continue, but whether I will have a revised schedule or not for next year, I’m not sure. Normally, I like to come to Australia and play and I had the greatest success of my career here, so if I am in good shape, in good health and motivated, I do not see the reason why I would not come. “”
Meanwhile, with the victory, Zverev went to his first career final at Australian Open. The German is trying to win his first Grand Slam title in a career.
Zverev will then play against the winner of the other semi-final between the American Ben Shelton and the world n ° 1 Jannik Sinner.