John McEnroe thinks Alexander Zverev made a big mistake against Novak Djokovic despite winning

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Novak Djokovic and Alexander looked set to play out an all-time Australian Open classic, but their semi-final came to an abrupt end in Melbourne.

The Australian Open crowd booed Djokovic as he walked off Rod Laver Arena, with the 10-time champion having retired hurt after just one set.

Zverev needed to take the initiative versus Djokovic, with the German doing so by winning the first set 7-6(7-5) in the final four clash.

But Djokovic couldn’t continue his battle with ATP number two Zverev because of a leg injury, which also impacted him in his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz.

The German now meets Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final, with the Italian having beaten Ben Shelton 7-6(7-2), 6-2, 6-2.

John McEnroe says Alexander Zverev was too passive despite win vs Novak Djokovic

And despite having made a strong start against legendary figure Djokovic, former world number one John McEnroe found room to criticise one aspect of his game.

“We were all wondering how he was going to hold up after the match against Carlos but I thought he was moving pretty well actually,” McEnroe said of Djokovic on ESPN.

READ MORE: Tennis fans wowed by what Alexander Zverev did during his on-court interview after win over Novak Djokovic as he’s labelled ‘pure class’

“Clearly Zverev was tight, trying to get the nerves out, it was a very closely contested first set. I was almost more shocked when he missed the volley!

“The next thing you nnow, the only person who was happy in the stadium was Zverev. The look in his eyes was like ‘what?’

“But it brings you back. The first time I ever won a major I got a couple of defaults. You don’t know, in ten years’ time if Zverev wins this – nobody is going to know or care Novak didn’t play. It’s not his fault.

“But that’s a bummer, it was starting to get very interesting. Zverev has had rollercoaster rides to try and get to a major, he has been so close.

“He figured out he needed to be able to have more left in the legs to make it through. But was he going out there to try and have a war of attrition?

“Was he trying to break him down? What was going on there? He was very passive in my book. More passive than he should have been.”

Alexander Zverev vs Jannik Sinner head-to-head record ahead of Australian Open final

A lot of the post-match discussion will undoubtedly focus on Djokovic given his withdrawal, with the Serbian having been chasing history in Melbourne.

He has now once more fallen short of a 100th ATP Tour title and a 25th Grand Slam title, while it may just be his last attempt at an Australian Open.

READ MORE: Jim Courier states the big difference he has spotted between Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner at the Australian Open

But Zverev certainly deserves credit for his first-set display and how he approached the match, as well as his overall run in Melbourne.

He will, however, likely need to raise his game even further if the German is to make it past world number one Sinner.

The Italian is a formidable force on hard courts, but Zverev has the psychological advantage of a positive head-to-head record of 4-2 over his next opponent.