Is this the end of Novak Djokovic's career? Doubts grow that tennis star can add to his 24 Grand Slam titles after injured ace is booed out of Australian Open
Is this the end of Novak Djokovic's career? Doubts grow that tennis star can add to his 24 Grand Slam titles after injured ace is booed out of Australian Open
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With the boos and whistles that greeted his premature departure from Rod Laver Arena doubtless still ringing in his ears, it was, said Novak Djokovic, too soon to contemplate the future. Yet the questions surrounding what comes next for the 37-year-old, after he was forced to retire with a groin injury one set into his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev, are many and pressing.
![[The 10-time Australian Open champion was consoled by Zverev afterwards, with the German taking the crowd to task over their mixed reaction to the premature conclusion of the match]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/15/94480757-14321427-image-a-13_1737733248882.jpg)
It is only two years since Djokovic, overwhelmed with emotion, claimed a cathartic 10th title at Melbourne Park, celebrating raucously with his family and team after laying to rest memories of the previous year's deportation drama. Yet, increasingly, it feels like an eternity ago.
![[Djokovic, who cut a disconsolate figure in his press conference, refused to rule out the possibility that he had made his final appearance at Melbourne Park]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/15/94480389-14321427-image-m-17_1737733467203.jpg)
His powers of recovery are the stuff of legend, but for once Djokovic was unable to defy medical logic, unable to shake off the groin injury he suffered during his quarter-final victory over Carlos Alcaraz, which had prevented him from practising in the two days before facing Zverev.
![[Djokovic fulfilled a lifetime ambition when he won Olympic gold last summer, defeating Alcaraz in the final at Roland Garros only a few weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/15/94481161-14321427-image-a-20_1737733859472.jpg)
And unthinkable though it may seem, the impression is growing that time and tide may finally be catching up with the Serbian superman. It is far too soon, of course, to dismiss the prospects of a player who has forged one of the greatest careers in the history of sport, yet his growing susceptibility to injury is undeniable.
![[But Djokovic was unable to find a way past Alcaraz, left, three weeks earlier in the Wimbledon final, and he has faced a growing catalogue of injuries in the latter years of his career]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/15/87326971-14321427-Carlos_Alcaraz_left_beat_Novak_Djokovic_right_in_straight_sets_i-a-21_1737734121346.jpg)
There were jeers and whistles amid the applause for Novak Djokovic as he made his way off Rod Laver Arena after retiring against Alexander Zverev at Melbourne Park. The 10-time Australian Open champion was consoled by Zverev afterwards, with the German taking the crowd to task over their mixed reaction to the premature conclusion of the match.
![[Djokovic aggravated a knee injury against Argentina's Francisco Cerundolo at last summer's French Open and was forced to pull out of the quarter-finals before undergoing surgery]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/15/94481441-14321427-image-a-22_1737734291436.jpg)
