Fans enjoyed an intense opening set in the Australian Open semifinal between Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev, which lived up to pre-match expectations. However, they were left shocked when Djokovic suddenly retired at the end of the first set. Some were furious and booed the former World No. 1 afterward.<\/p>\n
Djokovic struggled physically in the first and second sets of his quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz. Because of this, it was also reported that he skipped a practice session before the match against Zverev. Despite those fears, the ten-time Australian Open champion<\/a>moved pretty well throughout most of the set. There were many lengthy rallies, and Djokovic won his share of them.<\/p>\n However, the 37-year-old began to look more uncomfortable as the set went on. After 71 minutes, the set went to a tiebreak, and there were further long rallies in the hot Melbourne conditions. At 5-6 and set point down, Djokovic missed a routine volley to hand Zverev the set.<\/p>\n With the crowd still gasping after that miss at the net, Djokovic shook hands with a surprised Zverev and retired from the match. As he waved to the fans at the Rod Laver Arena, some booed him in frustration at only seeing one set after paying for tickets.<\/p>\n While the fans’ anger was understandable, Djokovic would undoubtedly only retire if the problem was serious. He has won Grand Slam titles while managing injuries, including at the Australian Open<\/a>. The tennis legend also looked devastated as he left the court.<\/p>\n "I played one of my best sets… and I won 7-5 in a tiebreak while he was injured!<\/p>\n I don't know… maybe Novak is too good for the sport!"<\/p>\n \ud83d\ude02 @alexzverev<\/a>.#AO2025<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/WL0BdGmtMw<\/a><\/p>\n — #AusOpen (@AustralianOpen) January 24, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n