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Tennis: Djokovic retires from Australian Open as Zverev cruises to Australian Open final
Tennis legend, Novak Djokovic, has retired from ongoing Australian Open following torn-muscle injury.
Regarding situations at the ongoing Australian Open, Alexander Zverev continues his impressive outing as he cruises into the semi-finals to play against Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton.
Djokovic surprisingly retired from Australian Open following his inability to continue through a torn muscle in his upper side of his left leg which prompted him to thrown-in a towel and admitted there is a “chance” that he may have played his last game at the tournament.
The Tennis legend, 37, admitted defeat after putting a simple volley into the net on set point, which got him booed by various sections of the spectators while making his way out of the court despite obviously struggling with the injury amidst his dramatic comeback victory over Carlos Alcaraz in Tuesday’s quarter-final match.
He eventually admitted that he had nothing left in the tank following his inability to train on Wednesday and Thursday.
Tennis: Djokovic Retires From Australian Open
As the injury brought an end to his unprecedented 25th grand slam title in Melbourne and cast uncertainty over his future, Djokovic insisted that he is very determined to and bent on coming back and challenge for more titles.
“I’ll keep going. I’ll keep striving to win more slams,” he said.
“And as long as I feel that I want to put up with all of this, I’ll be around.”
His retirement from the Australian Open mirrors that Zverev will advance to his first-ever Australian Open final, where the German will battle it out against defending champion and World No 1 Jannik Sinner on Sunday.
Djokovic On His Torn-Muscle Injury (‘Pain was too much to handle’)
“I didn’t hit a ball since Alcaraz match, so until like an hour before today’s match.
“I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had, medications and the strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today.
“But towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.
“If I won the first set, maybe I would try [to play on]. Maybe a few more games, half a set, maybe a set. I don’t know. It was getting worse and worse.
“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 another God knows what, two, three, four hours.
“I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank.”
Djokovic And Murray To Discuss Future
Novak Djokovic and his coach, Andy Murray set to discuss their future together after he retired from Australian Open due to injury impeded him from clinching 25th grand slam title.
Djokovic shocked the world of tennis last year when he employed his former rival Andy Murray as his trainer on a short-term deal through to the end of the first grand slam of the year.
Murray conceded, in return, that the deal surprised him after informing friends that he had no interest in coaching after he quit the game.
Meanwhile, Djokovic would do nothing but to commend Murray on his “positive” feedback and acknowledged his impact following his quarter-final victory over young rival Carlos Alcarez.
Djokovic Throws Weight Behind Zverev to Win Australian Open
Novak Djokovic said he “liked his chances” of advancing to the Australian Open final whether he was physically fit and says he desired Alexander Zverev to win the tournament.
“I actually thought I played really well, as well as I played the last 12 months, to be honest,” Djokovic said.
“Of course, it was never going to be an easy battle, an easy match for me. Neither it was for Sascha, even if I was not injured.
“But as I said, I think I was striking the ball very well. A lot of positives to take in terms of how I reached the semi-finals. It’s a very good result considering the circumstances.
“But it’s not satisfying to me, for my standards. I always look for the highest goal, to reach the finals and fight for a trophy.
Tennis: Djokovic Retires From Australian Open
“I wish Sascha all the best. He deserves his first slam. I’ll be cheering for him. Hopefully he can get it.”
‘I Will Keep Striving To Win More Slams’ – Djokovic
When asked if he were concerned that injuries were impeding his quest for 25th grand slam, as he is approaching the age of 38, he said: “How much of a worry is it? I don’t know.
“It’s not like I’m worrying about approaching every grand slam now whether I’m going to get injured or not, but statistics are against me in a way in the last couple of years.
“So it is true that, you know, I’ve been getting injured quite a bit last few years. I don’t know what exactly is the reason for that. Maybe there are several different factors.
“But I’ll keep going. I’ll keep striving to win more slams. And as long as I feel that I want to put up with all of this, I’ll be around.”
Novak Djokovic After Beating Carlos Alcarez In The Australian Open Quarter-Final Game. Photo Credit: Morganable
During the press statement, Djokovic hints at retirement following his Australian Open injury: ‘There is a chance.’
Novak Djokovic hinted there might be a “chance” he had played his last game at the Australian Open after injury retired him from his semi-final game against Alexander Zverev.
The 10-time Australian Open champion has now quit in semi-final games two years in a roll as the last year’s French Open outing was scuppered by injury following knee ligament injury he sustained during the match.
The ten-time Australian Open champion, who was aiming to become the oldest grand slam winner of all time in Melbourne, held up his thumbs while departing the court but the crowd, in return, booed him as the match ended earlier than expected.
Djokovic’s Persistent Trend of Injuries At Grand Slam
Djokovic continues to wait on for his record 25th grand slam. Although, he won the Olympic in August, 2024−his last grand slam title came at the US Open in September, 2023, and his retirement from ongoing Australian Open means that the Serbian will not be having a chance of listing the trophy in two of his past five grand slam tournaments.
2024 Australian Open: Lost in semi-finals to Jannik Sinner
2024 French Open: Withdrew from tournament due to knee injury
2024 Wimbledon: Lost in final to Carlos Alcaraz
2024 US Open: Lost in third round to Alexei Popyrin
2025 Australian Open: Retired in semi-finals against Zverev with leg injury
On Australian Open Retirement
Djokovic stated after his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcarez that he still would have retired from the game if he had been defeated during the second set.
He notes that he would have loved to proceed in the game against Zverev if he had won the first set, but eventually conceded that the idea of playing four or more set was too much.
“I didn’t hit a ball since Alcaraz match, so until like an hour before today’s match.
“I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had, medications and the strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today.
“But towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.
“If I won the first set, maybe I would try a few more games, half a set, maybe a set. I don’t know. It was getting worse and worse.
“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, you know, for another God knows what, two, three, four hours.
“I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank.”
Djokovic Retires From Australian Open In The Semi Finals
During Djokovic’s post-match, he was asked if that could be his last Australian Open, considering his age (38 in May), he said: “There is a chance, who knows. I will have to see how the season goes.
“I want to keep going but whether I’m going to have revised schedule or not, I don’t know. If I’m fit, healthy, motivated, I will always come here.”
Alexander Zverev On Djokovic’s Injury And His Regards For Him For His Remarkable 24th Grand Slam Title
“I actually thought it was quite a high level first set. I mean of course you notice some difficulties and the more you keep playing the worse it gets.
“In the tiebreak he was maybe not moving as well as he was during the first set. I thought we had extremely long, physical rallies.
“In the tiebreak I maybe did see him struggle a bit more. But look, I’m happy to be in the final of the Australian Open, through to the final of a grand slam.
“On the other hand, to be completely honest, there’s no guy on the tour that I respect more than Novak, he has been one of the my closest friends on tour and whenever I have struggled he has been there to text and been there for advice.
“I was speaking to him for hours last year after I was struggling mentally after the US Open. I wanted this to be five sets. He’s won this tournament 10 times and I respect him a lot.”
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