Alexander Zverev to the Australian Open final as Djokovic withdraws

MELBOURNE, Australia – An injured Novak Djokovic retired with a torn muscle in his left leg after dropping the first set of his Australian Open semi-final against Alexander Zverev on Friday.

Djokovic lost the opener 7-6 (5) in a tiebreak and immediately went around the net to concede the match to Zverev. Fans booed as Djokovic walked towards the dressing room and he responded by giving two thumbs up.

“It got worse and worse,” Djokovic said later in his press conference, referring to the pain in the leg he hurt during his quarterfinal win over Carlos Alcaraz on Tuesday night. “I knew that even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me.”

Zverev, no. The No. 2 seed, who will be playing in his first title match at Melbourne Park, addressed the booing fans and defended Djokovic in his on-court interview.

“The very first thing I want to say is please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with an injury,” Zverev said. “I know everyone has paid for tickets and hopefully wants to see a five-set match. He’s won this tournament with a torn stomach, won this tournament with a hamstring injury. So please show some respect.”

Djokovic bid for an 11th championship at the Australian Open and a record 25th Grand Slam title overall. He withdrew from last year’s French Open before the quarter-finals after tearing the meniscus in his right knee.

The only set of Djokovic vs. Zverev lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes and included 19 points that lasted nine strokes or more apiece. The first four games alone lasted 31 minutes.

It was exhausting, and would have been even without dealing with a problem with one’s body. But Djokovic emerged with his left thigh taped up, a reminder that he ended the contest against Alcaraz that way after injuring himself late in the first set.

“I didn’t hit the ball since the Alcaraz match until an hour before today’s match,” Djokovic said on Friday. “I did everything I possibly could to basically manage the muscle tear that I had. Medicine and I guess (tape) and physical work helped to some extent today. But towards the end of it first set I just started feeling more and more pain and it was too much for me to handle but I tried.”

Djokovic, 37, was asked if this could have been his last appearance at Melbourne Park.

“There’s a chance. Who knows?” Djokovic said. “I’ll just have to see how the season goes. I want to continue.”

Zverev, a two-time runner-up at other major tournaments, will face the winner of Friday’s second semifinal between No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy, the defending champion, and no. 21 Ben Shelton from the USA.

The men’s final is Sunday. In Saturday’s women’s final, no. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus will try to become the first woman since 1999 with three consecutive Australian Open titles when she meets Madison Keys of the United States.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.