MELBOURNE, Australia — Novak Djokovic has retired from his Australian Open semifinal against Alexander Zverev after losing the first set in a tiebreak.
Djokovic missed a regulation putaway volley on top of the net down 5-6, and immediately embraced Zverev at the net before shaking hands with the umpire and walking off court.
“Novak Djokovic has given everything to this sport for his whole life, 20 years,” Zverev said on court after it was over.
”I played him here in 2021 when he had an abdominal tear, and he served 28 aces against me.”
The first set lasted one hour and 21 minutes, including the tiebreak, with both players missing break-point chances.
Djokovic injured his left leg during his quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz, requiring treatment at the end of the first set. In his post-match news conference, Djokovic was unsure of how fit he would be for the semifinal, having taken two doses of painkillers in order to get through four sets against Alcaraz. Having won the Australian Open with muscle tears twice in the past, it was expected that he could still get through the match, but such an attritional, grinding first set proved too much.
Zverev will face Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton in Sunday’s final, as he seeks a first Grand Slam title.
More to follow
(Getty Images)
