Novak Djokovic nails colours to mast for Australian Open final after injury withdrawal
Novak Djokovic nails colours to mast for Australian Open final after injury withdrawal
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Injured Novak Djokovic has backed Alexander Zverev to pull off a shock victory over Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open final. Djokovic, 37, was forced to pull out of his semi-final clash with Zverev, sending the German through to Sunday's final against world No.1 Sinner. The Serbian lost the first set 7-6 (7-5) to Zverev, succumbing to an injury which had been plaguing his run at the tournament.
The crowd in Meblourne began to boo after Djokovic's decision but Zverev leapt to his defence during his on-court interview, urging fans to show the record 10-time Australian Open champion some respect. Zverev's kind words have been returned by Djokovic, who's nailed his colours to the mast and wants Zverev to beat Sinner.
"I wish Sascha all the best," Djokovic said. "You know, he deserves his first slam. I'll be cheering for him. Hopefully, he can get it here.". Zverev responded by saying that he was grateful for the Djokovic's support. "Yeah, it means a lot to me, especially from Novak, who I admire and respect so much," the world No.2 added.
"I'm looking forward to Sunday - I do feel like I have done the work, and I do feel like I'm ready for it so we'll see how it goes. I'm very thankful to Novak for wishing me that.". Zverev, who's yet to win a grand slam, revealed that Djokovic helped him get over his mental struggles last year. "I was disappointed after the French Open, how my year was going, I was not winning tournaments anymore," the 27-year-old continued.
"The US Open was extremely disappointing to me because I thought I had a big chance to go very far there to make it to the finals and I performed very, very bad in my opinion. I was just asking him how it was for him when he was having difficult moments, and how he was coming back.
