Big surprise at the Australian Open: Serbian Novak Djokovic withdraws from the tournament, Alexander Zverev advances to the final

Novak Djokovic retires from the Australian Open against Zverev. XinHua – Hu Jingchen

This Friday, January 24, 2025, Serbian Novak Djokovic retires in the semi-finals of the Australian Open against Zverev.

The ten-time winner of the Australian Open Novak Djokovic, in search of a record 25th Grand Slam title, retired on Friday in the semi-finals in Melbourne against world No. 2 Alexander Zverev.

A thigh problem

While the German had just won the first set in the tie-break, the 37-year-old Serb came to tell him that he would not be able to continue a match that he had started with a large bandage on his left thigh, after injuring himself on Wednesday in the quarter-final against Carlos Alcaraz.

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In a press conference, Djokovic himself said on Wednesday that he was “concerned” about his injury, which he said was similar to the one he suffered in the hamstrings at the Australian Open. in 2023, which he had nevertheless won.

While leaving the stadium to the boos of the Rod Laver Arena crowd, Novak Djokovic received support from Zverev, who asked the spectators to stop jeering him. The two players engaged in an intense battle for 1 hour and 20 minutes, with Djokovic managing to save five break points on his serve to push his opponent into the tiebreak.

At 6/5 for Zverev, the Serbian sent a volley into the net, giving his opponent the first set. At 27, Zverev will have a third chance to win a Grand Slam title on Sunday, after losing the finals of the 2020 US Open and Roland-Garros in 2024. He had never beaten Djokovic in a Grand Slam.