Novak Djokovic has been forced to continue his search for an elusive 25th Grand Slam title elsewhere after suffering an Australian Open semi-final exit.
A Djokovic statue has been suggested at Melbourne Park given his success there, with the Serbian boasting a record 10 titles.
But the 37-year-old fell in the final four stage this time around, with Djokovic booed by fans after ending his clash with Alexander Zverev early.
Djokovic lost the first set to the German before retiring hurt, with the 24-time Grand Slam champion sharing a record of his hamstring tear following his exit.
It continues his dramatic history at the Australian Open, having been banned from playing there in 2022 over his vaccination status regarding Covid-19.
Jimmy Connors defends Novak Djokovic after boos by Australian Open crowd
He returned in 2023 to win the competition, and followed that up with wins at the French Open and the US Open, with a Wimbledon final loss.
Eight-time major champion Jimmy Connors has now shared his verdict on Djokovic’s latest injury-hit Grand Slam, saying on the Advantage Connors podcast: “It just goes to show it doesn’t matter what you do.
“No good deed goes unpunished. It is crazy but you know what, I look back over the last number of years and he has done some things.
READ MORE: Boris Becker denies statement made about Novak Djokovic as he says he’s been incorrectly translated
“He stood up for himself, he thought that is the way it should be done, didn’t meet with the approval of many, many people around the world and that’s something he got criticised for. I am talking about covid.
“And now when something happens like this – I also look and I see that, not everybody can wear the white hat. If everyone wore the white hat and was the good guy it would be a bit boring to me.
“A little controversy or a different attitude, it doesn’t have to be much, but I always thought that there is one quote that I like, it says ‘do what you think, say what you want, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind’.
“I like that because it kind of fit me. The emphasis here is that it is never enough, you can push yourself to the brink and be on life support and they would still boo you.
“I am just going to say this. You have got those people who no matter what are going to have that feeling of, I don’t know if it’s jealousy or what it is, but unless you stay straight down the line they are always going to get on you.”
Jimmy Connors ‘rooted for’ Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open
Djokovic was certainly up against it in Melbourne, having needed to make it past impressive Czech duo Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka.
He also needed to avoid major upsets against youngsters Nishesh Basavareddy and Jaime Faria, with Alcaraz, of course, then representing a huge challenge.
Injuries and a lack of form going into the event created such a scenario, with Djokovic having been the Australian Open seventh seed.
Touching further on the veteran’s latest run in Australia, Connors said: “He had a tough draw. He had to play Alcaraz to play Zverev to play Sinner, if he wins. That is what happens if you are not in the top two, three or four.
“Everybody thinks that I am going to play forever, and you can but it depends and what level you want to play at.
“The older you get, those long matches and tough points where you have to run after one extra ball, that starts wearing on you physically and mentally. Also your recuperating time after a long match doesn’t happen as quickly.
“But nobody is taking care of themselves better than Djokovic has. He does everything possible to make it possible for him to go and play the kind of tennis he wants to.
“But even doing that, there is one guy you can never beat, and that’s age. Age is going to catch up with everybody.
“I hate to talk about it because he has been, and still is, such a great champion – and [Roger] Federer and [Rafael] Nadal the same. And you get tired of talking about it ‘when are you going to retire’. I did!
“I look at him and I root for him. I rooted for him because I liked his game, I liked the way he played, he tried to take the ball early and move forward and his return.
“I rooted for him then and I’m rooting for him now. I am all for a guy who is willing to go out there and do whatever it takes still to put it on the line and go for it. Don’t tell him when to quit, he will know when to quit and move on.
“But that is a tough decision because for 20 years, all of a sudden to wake up and say I am not going to do that any more. That is a tough day to wake up.”
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
