Novak Djokovic on the injury that forced him to withdraw against Alexander Zverev

On January 25, 2025By Littum

Ten-time Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic says he suffered a muscle tear during his four-set quarter-final triumph over Carlos Alcaraz, ultimately forcing him to withdraw from his semi-final match on Friday.

The muscle tear in his left leg forced Djokovic to retire after one set against Alexander Zverev, who will face top-seeded Jannik Sinner in the men’s final on Sunday. Djokovic was booed off the court and received admonition from Zverev, who urged fans to show some respect.

“I did everything I possibly could to cope with the muscle tear I had,” Djokovic said after the match. “The meds and the strap and the physio helped a little bit today, (but) towards the end of the first set I just started feeling more and more pain. It got worse and worse. It was just too much for me to handle at the moment.

“I knew that even if I won the first set, it was going to be a huge uphill battle for me to stay fit enough to stay with him in the rallies for another, God knows, two, three, four hours .I don’t.I think I had it in mind today Unfortunate ending, but I tried.

Tried to recover for today’s game but I could only push so far. Nonetheless, positives to take out of this year’s Aus Open. Congratulations to @AlexZverev to make another GS final. I want you to win the title because you deserve it my friend pic.twitter.com/BZPyQqPk6R

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) 24 January 2025

Djokovic, 37, said he is unsure how long he will be out of competition and declined to say whether this will be his last tournament in Australia. The next Grand Slam tournament is the French Open in Paris, which starts on May 25.

The 24-time Grand Slam champion is also scheduled to compete in the Qatar ExxonMobil Open in Doha starting on February 17.

“When I go home to Europe, I will meet with the medical team and my physios and try to understand what we can do and the fastest way to recover and get back on track,” Djokovic said.

“I still have a Doha tournament in a few weeks scheduled. Whether I play it or not, it really depends on how quickly I recover. It just depends on the muscle and how it responds to the treatment.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Novak Djokovic’s bid for an 11th Australian Open title ends with injury