Novak Djokovic failed to recover from injury problems for the third time at the Australian Open, surrendering the semifinals to second seed Alexander Zverev after losing the first set - 6:7.
"Injury is the biggest enemy of a professional athlete. In the past, I've dealt with certain injuries like the one a few years ago, which in some way helped me play better and win the tournament. This time it didn't work out and that's okay. I can't throw away all the incredible memories and results I've achieved here just because I retired in the semifinals," said the 10-time Ozzie Open champion.
He was injured during the first set of the quarter-finals against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, and his left thigh was bandaged during today's match. "I hadn't hit a ball since the duel with Alcaraz until an hour before today's match. I did everything possible to repair the rupture. The medication, the bandage and the work with the physiotherapist helped me to some extent today, but towards the end of the first set I started to feel more and more pain. It got worse. It was too much for me to deal with at that moment. An unfortunate end, but I tried," Djokovic said at a press conference.
He retired from a Grand Slam tournament for the eighth time in his career - Roland Garros 2005, second round: Djokovic – Guillermo Coria – 6:4, 2:6, 2:3, retired; Roland Garros 2006, quarterfinals: Djokovic – Rafael Nadal – 4:6, 4:6, retired; Wimbledon 2007, semifinals: Djokovic – Nadal – 6:3, 1:6, 1:4, retired; Australian Open 2009, quarterfinals: Djokovic – Andy Roddick – 7:6(3), 4:6, 2:6, 1:2, retired; Wimbledon 2017, quarterfinals: Djokovic – Tomas Berdych – 6:7(2), 0:2, retired; US Open 2019, fourth round: Djokovic – Stan Wawrinka – 4:6, 5:7, 1:2, withdrawal; Roland Garros 2024, quarterfinals: Djokovic vs. Casper Ruud – withdrawal before the match.
He did not know whether he would continue his collaboration with his peer and former great rival from England, Andy Murray.
"I don't know. We're both disappointed with what just happened, so we haven't talked about the future yet. I'll definitely talk to Andy and thank him for being here with me. I'll give my impressions of the work, which are, of course, positive. I'll find out his opinion. And we'll move on. Now it's hard to switch, turn the page and talk about the next steps. We both need to cool down," the 37-year-old superstar explained.
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