Novak Djokovic retired after a 7–6 first set that lasted one hour and 20 minutes in the men’s semifinals of the 2025 Australian Open on January 24, 2025. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
In a stunning development at the Australian Open, an injured Novak Djokovic withdrew after losing the first set of his semifinal match versus Alexander Zverev.
Zverev, the No. 2 seed, won a grueling first set in a 7–6 tiebreaker that lasted one hour and 26 minutes. No. 7 Djokovic decided he couldn’t continue with a left leg injury that was hindering him throughout the match. The 10-time Australian Open champion revealed afterward that the injury was a muscle tear.
As soon as the set ended, Djokovic put his thumb up and conceded the match. Zverev and the very pro-Djoker crowd at Rod Laver Arena was hushed in disbelief.
“Please, guys — don’t boo a player when he goes out with injury,” Zverev said on-court in his post-match interview.
“I know everyone paid for tickets and everybody wants to see a great five set match. But you have to understand for the past 20 years, Novak Djokovic has given tennis absolutely everything,” he added. “He has won this tournament with an abdominal tear, a hamstring tear. If he cannot continue with this match, it means he really can’t continue.”
Djokovic set the pace early in the match and appeared to be controlling play, to Zverev’s frustration.
Though the injury bothered Djokovic during his quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz and he wasn’t able to practice on Wednesday or Thursday before the match with Zverev, it didn’t appear to be an issue. During the ESPN telecast, broadcasters John McEnroe and Jim Courier both remarked that Djokovic wasn’t playing like he was injured.
That obviously changed as the first set progressed. Djokovic was limping as he went to his chair at the change of ends. Yet he still almost won. What would have happened had Djokovic won? Would he have attempted to play another set or two? He admitted that would have been difficult.
“Until an hour before today’s match, I did everything I possibly could to manage the muscle tear that I had,” Djokovic told reporters afterward.
“Medications and the strap and the physio work helped to some extent today,” he continued. “But towards the end of that first set, I just started feeling more and more pain, and it was too much for me to handle for me at the moment. So, unfortunate ending, but I tried.”
Novak Djokovic confirms he has a muscle tear after retiring from Australian Open SF against Zverev:“Look, it’s a muscle tear. Two years ago, you know, I have managed it better. On the court it didn’t bother me as much. This time that wasn’t the case.”
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) January 24, 2025
For Djokovic, the withdrawal means that he won’t win his record 25th major title and 11th Australian Open. Injuries have prevented him from finishing two of his past four Grand Slam tournaments. He withdrew from last year’s French Open before the quarterfinals due to a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Asked if this could be his final Australian Open, Djokovic said, “There is a chance, who knows.”
“I will have to see how the season goes,” he added. “I want to keep going but whether I’m going to have a revised schedule or not, I don’t know. If I’m fit, healthy, motivated, I will always come here.”
Zverev will face the winner of the other men’s semifinal between defending Australian Open champion and No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner and No. 21 Ben Shelton. He is pursuing his first major tournament title.
