Novak Djokovic leaves the tennis world stunned as he abruptly RETIRES from the Australian Open - and fans are slammed for their savage reaction
Novak Djokovic leaves the tennis world stunned as he abruptly RETIRES from the Australian Open - and fans are slammed for their savage reaction
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Novak Djokovic has sensationally retired mid-match in his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev after losing the first set in a tiebreak. And Australian Open fans have been slammed for booing the champion Serbian star after he finally succumbed to an injury he battled throughout the tournament.
![[Djokovic embraces Alexander Zverev after he was forced to put an end to his Open campaign]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/05/94464477-14320433-image-a-73_1737695949009.jpg)
'Yes, I did everything I possibly can to manage... manage the muscle tear that I had and, yes, medications and I guess the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today,' Djokovic said after walking from the court with the score at 7-6 (7-5). 'But, yeah, towards the end of that... that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain and it was, yeah, too much to, I guess, to handle for me at the moment. So, yeah, unfortunate ending, but I... I tried.'.
![[Some fans booed Djokovic (pictured gesturing to the crowd as he walked from centre court) - with Zverev defending the tennis icon and admonishing the spectators afterwards]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/05/94464481-14320433-image-a-82_1737696593986.jpg)
Djokovic - who was on track for a record 11th Australian Open and 25th grand slam victory - walked immediately to the chair umpire to say he could not go on after dropping the set in a tiebreaker after one hour and 21 minutes on Friday afternoon, local time.
![[The Serbian champion required a medical timeout during his quarter final against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz (pictured), with that injury appearing to flare up badly on Friday]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/05/94464773-14320433-image-a-83_1737696715732.jpg)
Afterwards, the dejected Serb said the pain of having to pull out was still too raw for him to make a decision on his future in the game, but he appeared to be keen to continue his partnership with new coach Andy Murray. Djokovic stunned the tennis world when he retired after losing the first set in his semi final against Alexander Zverev at Melbourne Park on Friday.
![[Djokovic cut a dejected figure in his post-match press conference as he said the pain of missing his shot at a record 25th grand slam was too raw for him to speculate on his future]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/06/94465415-14320433-image-a-36_1737699244764.jpg)
Djokovic embraces Alexander Zverev after he was forced to put an end to his Open campaign. The first signs of trouble for the former world No.1 cropped up when he had to have his left thigh heavily strapped after hurting himself in his quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday night.
![[Djokovic had plenty of support in his semi-final clash, but pockets of the crowd booed him when he was forced from centre court by the leg complaint]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/01/24/05/94464781-14320433-image-a-84_1737696973593.jpg)
