Alexander Zverev has broken his silence following Novak Djokovic’s sudden retirement during their semi-final match at the Australian Open. Djokovic quit after losing the first set to Zverev 7-5, allowing the German player to secure his place in the final. Djokovic’s unexpected withdrawal left the crowd confused and shocked, with some fans booing the world No. 1 player as he exited.
During an on-court interview with Jim Courier, Zverev addressed the crowd, saying, “The very first thing I want to say is please, guys, don’t boo a player when he goes out with an injury.” He added, “I know everyone paid tickets and everyone wants to see hopefully a great five-set match. But Novak Djokovic is someone who has given this sport for the past 20 years absolutely everything of his life.”
It’s worth noting that the Serbian player retired after losing the first set 7-5 to the 27-year-old. Zverev commented, “I actually thought it was quite a high-level first set, but, I mean, like, of course, there are some difficulties, and the longer you continue playing, then maybe the worse it gets.”
Reflecting on Djokovic’s on-court struggles, Zverev said, “In the tiebreak, maybe he was not moving as well as in the entire first set, but I thought we had extremely long rallies, extremely difficult, physical rallies. In the tiebreak, I did see him struggle maybe a bit more.”
Zverev is now set to play in the 2025 Australian Open final on Sunday against either Jannik Sinner or Ben Shelton.
