Injured Djokovic booed off after quitting semi-final

After retiring from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic was booed off the court by some Australian Open fans.

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

The 37-year-old Serb had his upper left leg heavily taped after injuring it in Tuesday’s quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz.

Djokovic, who also aimed for an all-time single record of 25 major titles, said, “I did everything I could do to manage the muscle tear that I had.”

“Toward the end of that first set, I just started experiencing more and more pain.

For me, it was too much.

Djokovic approached Zverev and shook his hand as he slammed a volley into the net on set point.

Despite audible boos from some areas of Rod Laver Arena, he waved to the crowd and gave them a double thumbs up.

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

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

After losing twice in major finals, second-seeded German Zverev is still competing for his first Grand Slam.

There have been questions about Djokovic’s fitness since he lunged for a dropshot toward the end of the first set against Alcaraz and then grimaced in his box.

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

However, he continued to be unsure about his suitability for the role of Zverev.

Djokovic had not played at Melbourne Park since Tuesday night’s victory, and he had already canceled a planned hit on Thursday. He then spent an hour warming up on the court just before the semi-final.

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

Despite torn an abdominal muscle in the third round, he also won the 2021 title.

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

You have to understand that Novak Djokovic is a player who has given absolutely everything to tennis, even though everyone paid for the tickets and wants to watch a five-set match.

He won this title while tearing his abdominal muscles, and he also won the title while hamstringing it.

From the beginning of the semi-final, Djokovic appeared far below his best.

The former world number one, who struggled badly during his first serve, was fortunate not to face more punishment from Zverev.

On the four break points he created in the third game of the match, Zverev, who was passive behind the baseline, made poor errors.

Before he framed a forehand into the front rows of the stand on the fourth, two forehands and a backhand were meekly dumped into the net.

Djokovic had three break points at 2-1 but was unable to take any of his chances after three 23-minute games.

Djokovic’s service matches improved, but he had to save a fourth break point, which increased the need for labored walks to the chair and agonizing facial expressions.

Nevertheless, ending the match early came as a shock to most of the 15, 000 crowd on Rod Laver Arena – and Zverev himself.

Asked if he had any indication Djokovic was struggling, Zverev laughed:” No, I actually thought it was a high-level set.

“Of course, there were some challenges, and the worse it gets,” he said.