Injured Djokovic Booed Off After Quitting Semi-Final
Novak Djokovic was booed off court by some Australian Open fans after retiring injured from his semi-final against Alexander Zverev.
Djokovic, who was bidding for a record-extending 11th title, quit after losing the first set 7-6 (7-5) in 80 minutes.
The 37-year-old Serb had his upper left leg heavily taped after injuring it in Tuesday’s quarter-final win over Carlos Alcaraz.
After he slapped a volley into the net on set point, seventh seed Djokovic immediately approached Zverev and shook his hand.
He waved to the crowd and gave them a double thumbs up, despite audible boos from some sections inside Rod Laver Arena.
Djokovic had not practised at Melbourne Park since Tuesday night’s victory, cancelling a planned hit on Thursday before spending an hour warming up on court shortly before the semi-final.
Djokovic did not practise between matches during his 2023 title run and later revealed he had a three centimetre tear in his hamstring.
He also won the 2021 title despite tearing an abdominal muscle in the third round.
