MELBOURNE, Australia – Injured Novak Djokovic quit after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev on Friday with a torn muscle in his left leg.
Djokovic lost the opener 7-6 (5) and immediately wandered around the net shaking hands with Zverev.
The crowd booed the 37-year-old Djokovic as he walked off toward the locker room, and he responded by stopping, turning around, and giving two thumbs up.
In his press conference, Djokovic said the pain in his left foot was “worsening.”
He hurt it during his quarterfinal win against Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night, wearing white tape around his upper leg against Zverev.
“I knew,” Djokovic said, “even if I won the first set, it would be a big uphill battle for me.”
He was bidding for his 11th championship at the Australian Open and recording his 25th Grand Slam title overall.
But this is only the second time in the last four major tournaments. He was unable to finish due to injury. He withdrew from last year's French Open before the quarterfinals after tearing the meniscus in his right knee during the match.
Djokovic underwent surgery a few days later and soon reached the final at his next major, Wimbledon, before winning the gold medal for Serbia at the Paris Olympics.
On Friday he was asked if this might have been his last appearance at Melbourne Park.
“There's a chance, you know?” Djokovic said. “We'll have to see how the season goes. I want to keep going.”
No. 2-seeded Zverev reached his first title match at Melbourne Park, and on Sunday was the winner of Friday's second semifinal between No. 1 Jannik Sinner of the United States and No. 21 Ben Shelton of the United States. Play against the winner.
Zverev is a two-time runner-up in other major tournaments, losing the final in five sets at the 2020 US Open and 2024 French Open.
“The first thing I want to say is, well, don't boo a player when he goes out injured,” Zverev told the crowd at Rod Larver Arena in an on-court interview. “I know everyone paid for the ticket. Everyone wants to see a hopefully great five-set match. But you have to understand – Novak Djokovic is someone who has given this sport absolutely all of his life for the past 20 years.”
Djokovic vs. Zverev's only set lasted an hour, 20 minutes, and lasted more than a stroke of nine points. The first four games alone lasted 31 minutes.
It was tough – and it would have been even without dealing with my body issues. But everything was too big for thigh-high Djokovic. This first became an issue late in the first set against Alcaraz.
“Since (The) Alcaraz Match, I didn't hit a ball until an hour before today's match,” Djokovic said. “I basically did everything I could to manage the muscle tear that I had. The medication and I think (the tape) and period work helped to some degree today. But that first Towards the end of the set I just started to feel more and more pain and it was too much for me to handle. It's a disappointing ending, but I tried.”
Zverev said he could feel “some dents” on the other side of the net in the tiebreaker and noticed Djokovic struggling “maybe a little more.”
Two years ago, at Melbourne Park, Djokovic injured his left hamstring, but still managed to depart with the trophy. Against Alcaraz, he was down a set against someone he won at age 16 in his junior.
This time, Djokovic was unable to pull off a similar escape.
“If he can't continue the game of tennis, that means he can't continue the game of tennis,” Zverev told the fans. “And it really shows the love for Novak. ”
