Novak Djokovic pulled a stunning move during his semifinal match at the Australian Open on Friday in Melbourne.
Djokovic was facing Sascha Zverev, and the two had a tight battle during the first set. They even went to a tiebreak where Djokovic led 5-4. But then Zverev won two points in a row to set up a set point.
Djokovic had a sitter at the net for what should have been an easy smash, but he hit the ball into the net for an unforced error to give Zverev the set. After that, rather than prepare for the second set, Djokovic approached the net to shake Zverev’s hand. The Serbian tennis star had retired from the match due to the injury he sustained in the quarterfinals against Carlos Alcaraz.
Novak Djokovic has retired from a major match after the first set for the first time in his career.#AusOpen pic.twitter.com/VDZCMEUv8C
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 24, 2025
Djokovic headed off the court to some boos from the crowd, while Zverev was interviewed by Jim Courier.
Zverev said he was surprised because he thought the first set was being played at a high level. However, Zverev noted it seemed like Djokovic seemed to be bothered later on.
“In the tiebreak I did see him struggle more than before,” Zverev said in his interview.
Djokovic’s injury suffered against Alcaraz was bad enough where he said he would have retired had he lost the second set. He ended up winning the second set and then took the next two to win the match in four sets. However, Djokovic was in bad enough shape that he cancelled his practice on Thursday.
Novak Djokovic canceled his practice on Thursday at the Australian Open.
He is scheduled to practice on Friday ahead of his semifinal match against Alexander Zverev.
After his quarterfinal match, he said he was concerned about the injury he sustained while playing Carlos… pic.twitter.com/Hc4Vo74La0
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 23, 2025
Novak Djokovic spoke with the media after his medical retirement from the match. He said he was dealing with a muscle tear and that he was in a tremendous amount of pain.
“It was getting worse and worse. Even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me,” Djokovic said.
