MELBOURNE (AP) — An injured Novak Djokovic withdrew from his Australian Open semifinal match against Alexander Zverev on Friday, after losing the first set. The Serbian fell in the opening set 7-6 (5) in a tiebreak and immediately walked to the other side of the net to concede to the German, shaking hands and embracing him.
Then a controversial image unfolded, when fans booed as Djokovic headed towards the locker rooms, and the former world number 1 responded by raising his thumbs up twice.
The Serbian player had a tense relationship with the audience almost throughout the tournament.
"Please, do not boo a player when they leave due to injury. I know everyone paid for tickets, but you have to understand: Novak Djokovic is someone who has given absolutely everything of his life to this sport for the last 20 years," said Zverev after the match.
Why did Djokovic retire?
"It was getting worse and worse," Djokovic acknowledged in the press conference, referring to a leg pain. "I knew that if I won the first set, it was going to be an uphill battle."
The Serbian, who was aiming for his 11th championship at the Australian Open and to extend his record with a total of 25 Grand Slam titles, injured his left leg during his quarterfinal victory over Spanish player Carlos Alcaraz.
It was exhausting, and it would have been even more so, even without dealing with an ailment. Djokovic appeared with a bandage on his left thigh, a reminder of the bad conditions in which he had finished the match against Alcaraz, after injuring himself in the first set.
"I didn't hit a ball since the match against Alcaraz until about an hour before today's match," Djokovic reported. "I did everything I could to manage the muscle tear I had. The medication and I suppose the bandaging and physiotherapy helped to some extent. But towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much for me. It's an unfortunate ending, but I tried."
Djokovic, 37, was asked if this could be his last appearance at Melbourne Park. "It's possible. Who knows," he replied. "I just have to see how the season turns out. I want to continue."
Who will play in the final of the Australian Open?
Zverev (2nd seed) reached his first final at Melbourne Park and will face the winner of the Italian Jannik Sinner (top seed and defending champion), who defeated American Ben Shelton without breaking a sweat by 7-6, 6-2, and 6-2.
The German player does not have any Grand Slam titles but has two runner-up finishes, at the US Open in 2020 and last year at Roland Garros.