Novak Djokovic says if he would have continued playing if he won the first set against Alexander Zverev at the Australian Open

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Novak Djokovic shares if he would have continued playing the Australian Open semi-final if he won the first set.

The Serbian took on Alexander Zverev for a spot in what would have been his 11th Australian Open final.

But despite his desire and determination to reach the final, his body broke down as a muscle tear in his left leg forced Djokovic to retire after losing the first set.

Novak Djokovic shook hands with Zverev after the German took set one via a tiebreak and left the arena subject to boos from the Rod Laver Arena crowd.

Would Novak Djokovic have kept playing if he didn’t lose the first set against Alexander Zverev?

Djokovic was concerned about his fitness after he overcame the discomfort in his leg to win his Australian Open quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz in four sets.

But he did not practice until an hour before facing Zverev to protect his injury, but it proved to be too much for the 24-time Grand Slam champion to overcome yet again.

Djokovic said he would not have continued against Alcaraz if he lost the second set, and after retiring against Zverev he told reporters if he would have tried to continue if he won the opening set.

“Yeah, it could be. If I won the first set, maybe I would try, yeah, I don’t know, a few more games, half a set, maybe a set,” Djokovic admitted. “I don’t know. It was getting worse and worse.

“I knew even if I won the first set, that it’s going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay physically fit enough to stay with him in the rallies, you know, for another God knows what, two, three, four hours. I don’t think I had that, unfortunately, today in the tank.”

Will Novak Djokovic play at the Australian Open again?

In 2025 Djokovic will turn 38 and as time ticks many will contour to wonder how much longer he will play.

Djokovic has had a stellar injury record throughout his illustrious career, but in the last seven months alone he has undergone knee surgery and now he has muscle tear in his leg.

The World number seven admitted he is getting injured more often, but he hopes he can recover well from his latest setback.

“I had success with quick recoveries in the past. Let’s see,” Djokovic said. “It just depends on the muscle and how it responds to the treatment.”

“It is true that [I have been] getting injured quite a bit [the] past few years. I don’t know what exactly is the reason for that. Maybe several different factors. But I’ll keep going.

“I’ll keep striving to win more Slams. And as long as I feel that I want to put up with all of this, I’ll be around.”