Novak Djokovic was left feeling hurt and disappointed following the crowd reaction to his Australian Open semi-final retirement.
Before facing Alexander Zverev for a spot in the final, Djokovic expressed his concern about a leg injury he sustained during his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz.
The problem left Novak Djokovic unable to practice during his two-day break following his victory against the Spaniard.
Despite giving it his all the seventh seed was unable to continue following the first set of his encounter with Zverev, and the crowd were not happy about it.
Novak Djokovic comments on the Australian Open crowd booing him after retiring against Alexander Zverev
Djokovic took on Zverev for the first time at the Australian Open for a spot in Sunday’s championship match.
The 10-time champion at Melbourne Park and the World number two engaged in a tight one hour and 21-minute opening set, in which neither player had their serve broken.
Zverev took the lead when Djokovic missed a volley on set point in the tiebreak, before choosing to stop playing due to a muscle tear in his upper leg.
The Rod Laver Arena crowd booed this decision, and Djokovic responded by giving them a thumbs up as he left the court. Despite the crowd response, the 37-year-old still has plenty of love for Australia and its Grand Slam, where he is the most successful player.
“It’s not the first time that I kind of encountered these kind of circumstances. it wasn’t to be this time. That’s okay,” Djokovic told reporters.
“You know, I cannot throw away all the incredible memories and results and achievements that I’ve achieved here over the years just because this year, you know, I retired in the semifinals.
“I still, of course, now freshly off the court, am disappointed and upset. But at the same time Australia will always stay in my head, in my heart, as the best slam that I’ve ever played and ever performed on.”
Novak Djokovic reveals the extent of the leg injury sustained that Australian Open
Djokovic began to feel some discomfort in his leg during his Australian Open quarter-final against Alcaraz which forced him to have a medical timeout in the first set.
He then did not practice until one hour before his semi-final and could only manage one set against Zverev in the semi-finals.
After Friday’s match Djokovic disclosed he had a muscle tear, and the pain from it only worsened the longer he played. “I didn’t hit a ball since [the] Alcaraz match, so until like an hour before today’s match,” Djokovic said.
“I did everything I possibly can to basically manage the muscle tear that I had. Medications and, I guess, the strap, and the physio work helped to some extent today.
“But yeah, towards the end of that first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It was too much, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. Unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
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