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Manila Bulletin devider Sports devider An injured Djokovic stops in Aussie Open semis showdown against Zverev

An injured Djokovic stops in Aussie Open semis showdown against Zverev

Published Jan 24, 2025 06:00 am

At A Glance

  • An injured Novak Djokovic quit because of a torn muscle in his left leg after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday, Jan. 24.

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — An injured Novak Djokovic quit because of a torn muscle in his left leg after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday, Jan. 24.

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Novak Djokovic of Serbia reacts during his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev of Germany at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 24. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)

Djokovic lost the opener 7-6 (5) in a tiebreaker and immediately walked around the net to concede the match to Zverev. Fans booed as Djokovic walked off toward the locker room, and he responded by giving two thumbs-up.

“It was getting worse and worse,” Djokovic said later at his news conference, referring to the pain in his leg, which he hurt during his quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night. “I knew, even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me.”

Djokovic was bidding for an 11th championship at the Australian Open and record 25th Grand Slam title overall. He withdrew from last year's French Open before the quarterfinals after tearing the meniscus in his right knee.

The only set of Djokovic vs. Zverev lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes and included 19 points that lasted nine strokes or more apiece. The first four games alone lasted 31 minutes.

It was grueling — and would have been even without dealing with a problem with one’s body. But Djokovic showed up with his left thigh taped up, a reminder that he finished the contest against Alcaraz that way after hurting himself late in the first set.

“I didn't hit the ball since Alcaraz match until like an hour before today’s match,” Djokovic said Friday. “I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had. Medications and I guess the (tape) 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 and it was too much for me to handle. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.”

The 37-year-old Djokovic was asked whether this might have been his last appearance at Melbourne Park.

“There is a chance. Who knows?” Djokovic said. “I’ll just have to see how the season goes. I want to keep going.”

The No. 2-seeded Zverev reached his first title match at Melbourne Park and will face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal between No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy, the defending champion, and No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States.

Zverev is a two-time runner-up at other major tournaments.

The men's final is Sunday. In Saturday's women's final, No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will try to become the first woman since 1999 with three consecutive Australian Open titles when she faces Madison Keys of the United States.

Related Tags

AUSTRALIAN OPEN Novak Djokovic Alexander Zverev
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